Oregon fines
antigay group

The Defense of Marriage Coalition has been fined $19,811 by the Oregon Election Division for failing to report $58,000 in campaign donations by required deadlines. The coalition successfully sponsored Measure 36, which amended the Oregon constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The fine is the largest since the Oregon Democratic Party was fined $20,000 in 2003, said Anne Martens, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, who oversees state elections. "It's a failure to follow the rules and would have been easily avoided had the treasurer paid attention to the reporting requirements," Martens said.

The Defense of Marriage Coalition will contest the fine before the Oregon court of appeals, said Kristian Roggendorf, an attorney representing the group. Roggendorf said the coalition is protesting the inability to make corrections to campaign reports without incurring penalties. "There's no dispute there were some errors on the reporting forms," Roggendorf said. (AP)