Toolkit for Transparency: CLC Launches StopSecretSpending.org
The collapse of transparency in the financing of our elections has, in large part been due to weak laws and even weaker enforcement efforts. Rebuilding transparency in the financing of our elections will require enforcement of the rules currently in effect and new laws where needed. To help voters across the country understand the importance of transparency in our democracy and find effective solutions for rebuilding it, CLC launched StopSecretSpending.org.
On StopSecretSpending.org voters can learn more about transparency and the First Amendment, solutions to stop secret spending by wealthy special interests and new regulations needed to stop foreign spending on digital ads.
StopSecretSpending.org lays out:
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Resources on how to have more transparency in the funding of our elections - The power of wealthy special interest money in our politics threatens our First Amendment right to have our voices heard. For those looking for a resource on getting more transparency in state and federal elections, the site contains more detailed information on how we can stop secret spending in elections.
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We need more transparency in elections for more accountability and less corruption. – Wealthy special interests often run elections ads that are deliberately misleading. Voters need to know who is funding these ads so they can weigh their credibility and cast an informed vote. Political ad disclaimers with innocuous sounding names like, “America for Americans,” obscure the true source of the ad’s donors and priorities. States like South Dakota require political ads to include the names of the top five contributors to the advertising’s sponsors, creating an opening for transparency, giving voters information they have a right to know about who is influencing their elections.
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Transparency of sources of funding for our elections and candidates, and how that money is spent, has long been considered central to the free and transparent functioning of our democracy. Eighty-three percent of voters across partisan and demographic lines support publicly disclosing political contributions to organizations. Voters have a right to know who is trying to influence their vote, and who is working to influence our government.