On March 3, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the For the People Act, H.R. 1, a transformative bill that would set baseline standards and reverse coordinated efforts to restrict access to voting at the state level. This comes as lawmakers in 43 states have crafted more than 253 bills with provisions that restrict voting access.

Reform...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) asked the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to investigate possible misuse of campaign funds by Rep. Steven Palazzo in March 2020.

Specifically, Palazzo made campaign expenditures that appear to be illegal payments for personal expenses, including $60,000 in rental payments to his second home and $127,933 to his...

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in Brnovich v. DNC, a case which could have profound implications for the future of voting rights in America. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted an amicus brief in the case.

The case focuses on the role of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a federal law providing protection against racial...

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to hear a case, Brnovich v. DNC, that could have profound effects on the future of voting rights in America.

What is this case about?

This case is about two Arizona voting restrictions that are being challenged under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA).

• The first...

Google announced that it would rescind the ban on political advertising that it has had in place since the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Starting on Feb. 24, “[if advertisers] are otherwise policy compliant, then [Google’s] reviewers will approve the ad," said an email from Google obtained by Axios.  

The article goes on to highlight...

The U.S. Senate’s decision not to hold former President Trump accountable for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, despite bipartisan agreement that he incited rioters, highlights a larger problem in the upper chamber. 

The Senate seems to have an aversion to accountability not only for the immediate past president but also for its own...

Republican and Democratic former chairs of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Trevor Potter and Ann Ravel sent a bipartisan letter of support for the FEC reforms in the For the People Act (H.R.1/S.1) to leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. The steps outlined in H.R.1 to strengthen the agency will fix the failures of the FEC to...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) joined 42 civil society organizations calling on the Biden administration to implement a bold transparency agenda. The letter highlights the important role that transparency, accountability, and oversight play in ensuring the public’s trust in government.

The health of our democracy in part depends on the Biden...

The Georgia House of Representatives has hastily introduced an omnibus election bill that would make voting harder in a state that experienced record setting turnout in 2020. This partisan effort is part of a larger disturbing trend of restrictive voting bills that are gaining steam across the U.S. this year.

Jonathan Diaz, legal counsel for voting...

Reports filed by the National Rifle Association Victory Fund (NRA Victory Fund) reveal that the super PAC failed to disclose key information about nearly all of its individual contributors in the 2020 election cycle – keeping from the public identifying information about a combined $510,500 in donations.  

Campaign Legal Center Action (CLCA) and...

Despite a global pandemic, Americans turned out in record numbers to cast their votes in the 2020 election. Election administrators, volunteers, and voters overcame extraordinary obstacles to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

At the same time, however, we saw that our elections remain in need of improvement. For many Americans—especially...

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have implemented or are in the process of implementing automatic voter registration (AVR). In 2019, the Brennan Center found that AVR increased the average registration rate in every state where it was implemented. Oregon, the first state in the country to implement AVR, has seen its voter registration...

By today’s vote, 43 Senators failed to hold former President Trump to full account for his conduct, which threatened our 228-year tradition of peaceful transfers of the presidency under our Constitution. There is, however, action which Congress can now take that will bind some of the wounds of our democracy and strengthen it for elections to come...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has filed suit against Iowa Values, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the reelection of Sen. Joni Ernst, directly for failing to register as a political action committee (PAC). 

By failing to register as a PAC, Iowa Values did not report who their contributors are or where that money was spent on and deprived voters...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) hosted "How to Ensure That Redistricting Is Fair, Open, and Accessible,” a virtual discussion on the role that ethics provisions play in increasing public trust and promoting transparency and accountability in the redistricting process.

CLC experts Ruth Greenwood, co-director of voting rights and redistricting...

This year brings a once-in-a-decade window of opportunity to strip self-interested politicians of the ability to create voting districts that favor their reelection and give voters the power to choose their politicians. During the 2021 redistricting cycle, it is possible to make our democracy more responsive, enabling everyone to have their vote...

Any elected official who incites mob violence as part of a campaign to subvert our democracy is unfit to hold public office in the future.

This week’s impeachment trial is an opportunity for the public to hear the extent to which former President Trump used a campaign of disinformation to bully election officials and attempt to steal an election...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has called on the U.S. House Committee on Ethics to act immediately on lawmakers’ public threats of punishing companies that are withholding political contributions in response to the Capitol riot. Over 70 companies announced that they will suspend some or all of their political action committee (PAC) contributions after...

The For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1) is a comprehensive piece of legislation that would address critical challenges facing our democracy. 

As Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has detailed, this bill will advance voting rights for all, strengthen ethics laws, increase transparency, curtail partisan gerrymandering, and decrease the influence of wealthy...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC), as part of the Arizona Coalition to End Jail Based Disenfranchisement, has sent a total of 90 records requests to understand how many people in Arizona jails are being denied their constitutional right to vote across the state.

As of Jan. 28, 2021, 49 requests remain unanswered. Arizona is shielding the public from...

The country watched in shock as a mob of Trump supporters breached Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to delay the inevitable certification of President Biden’s victory. A lot of the blame for this incident has correctly fallen to former President Trump. Since his presidency began, Trump has made false claims of voter fraud and illegal voting.

But...