The American Civil Liberties Union is spending $720,000 in the U.S. Senate race in Arizona to send people into neighborhoods to hand out political fliers and run a TV commercial critical of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's treatment of immigrants.
ACLU spokesman Steve Kilar says the legal advocacy group normally stays out of political races, but is getting involved in the Arizona campaign and other races across the country to emphasize the importance of civil liberties to voters.
The group was the driving force behind a lawsuit in which Arpaio's officers were found to have racially profiled Latinos in traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.
The ACLU says it doesn't endorse candidates and instead tries to give voters information they need to make decisions about civil liberties.
