Upholding Transparency in State Elections (Americans for Prosperity v. Albence)

The Delaware Elections Disclosure Act seeks to ensure transparency in Delaware elections by requiring groups making electioneering communications — such as advertising for candidates — to publicly report these communications, including information about their donors. Signed into law in 2012, the Act was intended to improve transparency by giving Delaware voters greater insight into outside groups spending massive amounts of money to influence state elections. In response to a challenge brought forward by a nonprofit group, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the Act’s constitutionality in 2015 and reaffirmed that disclosure requirements advance the state’s interest in ensuring an informed electorate.  

In this latest case, the plaintiffs Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and its affiliated 501(c)3 group, AFP Foundation, argue that a recent Supreme Court ruling has “superseded” the Third Circuit decision; however, this Court ruling only reaffirms that the Third Circuit was correct to uphold Delaware’s law. Disclosure laws like Delaware’s are an important vehicle to enable voters to obtain information about election messages and to cast informed votes at the polls.