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federal election commission empty chairs

From Dysfunctional to Destructive

The Federal Election Commission’s Disastrous New Trend Opening the Floodgates to Big Money in Our Elections

From Dysfunctional to Destructive

The Federal Election Commission’s Disastrous New Trend Opening the Floodgates to Big Money in Our Elections

Never before in modern American history have a handful of wealthy elites exerted such unabashed influence and control over who serves in government, and whom government serves.  

The current state of our federal campaign finance system is a direct consequence of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) refusing to recognize or enforce guardrails on money in politics.

Campaign Legal Center’s new report, “From Dysfunctional to Destructive: The Federal Election Commission’s Disastrous New Trend Opening the Floodgates to Big Money in Our Elections,” examines the most consequential of the FEC’s recent deregulatory actions.

Cover page for a CLC report: “From Dysfunctional to Destructive: The Federal Election Commission’s Disastrous New Trend Opening the Floodgates to Big Money in Our Elections”

CLC’s one-of-a-kind report shines a light on how many of the FEC’s recent decisions have undermined democracy in three major ways:    

  • Allowing for greater coordination between outside groups funded by wealthy special interests — like super PACs — and candidates’ campaigns.    
  • Allowing federal candidates to use soft money, which is not subject to federal source or amount restrictions, to finance their election campaigns.  
  • Allowing wealthy special interests and political advertisers to evade disclosure when spending money to influence federal elections.   

In addition to explaining the key trends emerging from this period of the FEC’s work, CLC advocates for solutions that return the FEC to its original mission of enforcing critical campaign finance laws that make elections more transparent and ensuring candidates and elected officials are accountable to the people.  

With the recent resignation of Commissioner Sean Cooksey, there is now an opportunity to appoint a new FEC commissioner. It is now more important than ever that the selection process is reformed to ensure that new commissioners actually believe in and support the campaign finance laws the FEC was created to implement and enforce.  

Related Resources

From Dysfunctional to Destructive: The Federal Election Commission’s Disastrous New Trend Opening the Floodgates to Big Money in Our Elections

New CLC Report Examines FEC’s Role in Letting Big Money Dominate Elections   

15 Years of Citizens United: How Big Money Dominated the 2024 Election