Former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Trent Lott (R-MS) argued that the Electoral Count Act of 1887 (ECA) should be updated in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal and highlighted the need for Congress to act in a bipartisan manner to close loopholes that could undermine voters’ ability to decide the outcome of the next...

The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) found substantial reason to believe that Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose up to $17 million worth of stock transactions, following a CLC complaint. Most alarming, the OCE found STOCK Act noncompliance "is pervasive and reflects a culture of delayed filing contrary to the...

No matter our color, party or zip code, we all want an equal say in the decisions that shape our future. But in recent years, we’ve seen our freedom to vote come under attack.  

The U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration recently held a hearing on the administration of the 2022 midterm elections. Witnesses for the hearing included...

In a positive step forward for helping people with past felony convictions exercise their freedom to vote, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has released a “Guide to State Voting Rules that Apply After Criminal Convictions.” 

This guide draws upon, and links to, Campaign Legal Center’s (CLC) Restore Your Vote toolkit to provide information to people...

Every 10 years, the United States experiences a new cycle of “redistricting.” Responding to data from the census, state legislators or other map-drawers revise the district lines for the U.S. House of Representatives, state legislatures and other representative bodies, in order to equalize the districts’ population.

In that process, it is possible...

Voters have a right to know who is spending to influence their vote, and CLC is committed to protecting that right by filing complaints urging the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate straw donors — including shell companies used to funnel political contributions to super PACs while avoiding the legally required disclosure of the true...

When you visit a federal candidate’s campaign website, you’ll probably find their biography, a story about why they're running, and their positions on important issues. But you also might encounter a bright red box containing the peculiarly worded headline: “Voters need to see, read, and see on the go…”

That headline might be followed by negative...

As a candidate, President Joe Biden created a plan to, “guarantee government works for the people.” Among these reforms was a promise to work with Congress to enact legislation that would prevent members of Congress, “from being influenced by personal financial holdings.”

A year and a half into his term, the president has not taken any steps to...

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia have both signed anti-voter bills into law to create partisan “election police force units.” These partisan agencies are ostensibly dedicated to pursuing voter fraud and other election crimes under the control of the governor’s office.

In reality, they are unnecessary wastes of taxpayer...

A recently published study in Vanderbilt Law Review entitled “Felony Financial Disenfranchisement” found that contacting people with past felony convictions to let them know that they can vote and helping them pay off restitution, fines and fees significantly increases voter participation.

This study, conducted in Florida during the 2020 elections...

Voters have a right to know who is trying to influence their vote and who is working to influence our government. 

Transparency about the sources of funding for our elections and candidates and how that money is spent is central to the free and fair functioning of our democracy. 

Increasingly, however, our elections are being drowned in secret...

“Dark money" groups are political organizations that masquerade as "social welfare nonprofits" under section 501(c)(4) of federal tax law, allowing them to avoid having to disclose where any of their money came from. Wealthy special interests use these groups to pour cash into elections and influence legislation in their favor, while keeping their...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed suit against Heritage Action for America, a political arm of the Heritage Foundation, which spent over $1 million in the 2018 election cycle to help elect numerous Republican candidates for Congress. The lawsuit alleges that Heritage Action failed to make mandatory disclosures of the donors who contributed to fund...

This week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee held a long overdue hearing on ethical standards in the U.S. Supreme Court. CLC’s Vice President, General Counsel, and Senior Director of Ethics Kedric Payne provided testimony for the hearing entitled “An Ethical Judiciary: Transparency and Accountability for 21st Century Courts.” 

CLC’s testimony focu...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that “ML Organization, LLC,” William Pulte and other unidentified individuals violated federal campaign finance laws in connection with a $500,000 contribution made to a pro-Trump super PAC.

The complaint alleges that ML Organization was not the...

The New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, has struck down congressional maps drawn by the New York legislature in part for violating the New York Constitution’s rules against partisan gerrymandering.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC), joined by nonpartisan good government group Citizens Union, filed an amicus brief, which explained...

Wendy Martin, a client that Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is representing in the case LWV Utah and MWEG v. Utah State Legislature, published an op-ed for The Daily Herald that explains how the gerrymandered congressional map enacted by the Utah Legislature prevents voters from electing candidates who will be responsive to their communities’ needs.

T...

Saurav is Director of Federal Reform at CLC. He previously served as an enforcement attorney in the FEC’s Office of General Counsel and worked on the Tread Standard FEC matter discussed here.

The use of shell companies to hide the true sources of election spending is a growing problem that fundamentally undermines the transparency of elections...

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition for certiorari seeking to hear an appeal in Gaspee Project v. Mederos, letting stand a decision by the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Rhode Island’s political spending transparency rules.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) served as outside co-counsel to the state defendants in the Supreme Court...

In a win for fair maps, a Kansas district court has ruled that the state’s recently enacted congressional map constituted a partisan gerrymander and intentionally diluted the voting power of racial minorities, violating the Kansas Constitution.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and the ACLU of Kansas, along with pro bono assistance from Arnold & Porter...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed suit against 45Committee, a secret money group that spent as much as $38 million in 2016 to help elect former President Donald Trump. The suit alleges that 45Committee failed to register as a political committee as required by federal law, thereby avoiding disclosure of its donors and spending.

This suit, filed on...