American elections have many built-in processes for verification and review before, during and after a vote is cast. This is especially true when voting by mail.  

After a voter fills out and returns a mail ballot, it goes through a host of steps prior to being counted and election results being released to the public. These steps are known as...

Felony disenfranchisement laws, which take away someone’s freedom to vote if they have been convicted of a felony, are the biggest remaining obstacle to a truly inclusive and equitable democracy in America. 

These laws proliferated in the United States as an intentional scheme to strip Black Americans of their freedom to vote and continue to...

Ethics commissions at the state and local levels serve a crucial role in democracy by providing trainings to ensure government officials in every state, city and municipality know how to follow laws and rules that preserve public trust in government.  

Government employees are not the only ones who benefit from ethics training. Journalists...

As state houses across the country wrap up their 2023 legislative sessions, several states have taken important steps to update their election laws to conform with the new Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 (ECRA). Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, Nevada and Michigan enacted legislation this year that aligns their timelines for presidential...

Rep. George Santos has become the sixth member in the history of the House of Representatives to be expelled from the chamber. After two failed attempts to expel him, the third time stuck.  

What made the third time a charm? A deeply incriminating report, issued by the House Ethics Committee, detailing the extent of his wrongdoing.  

It would be hard...

A new report from Campaign Legal Center (CLC) examines one of the main issues undermining voters’ ability to equitably and meaningfully participate in our democracy: Unchecked coordination between candidates’ campaigns and supposedly independent election spending groups, like super PACs and dark money nonprofits, which pour billions of dollars into...

The freedom to vote and to make your voice heard is critical to the health of our democracy. Michigan’s legislature just took major steps forward to ensure its voters can have their voices heard and respected in future elections. 

This session, Michigan lawmakers have passed major pro-democracy bills to help ensure the state is ready for the 2024...

On November 13, the Supreme Court of the United States released a "code of conduct" that would seem to govern the behavior of its justices. Coming at the end of a year plagued with reporting on ethical lapses and missteps by these justices, Campaign Legal Center and others who have been long calling for such news should have seen cause to celebrate...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has long been calling for ethics reform at the U.S. Supreme Court. After all, justices are appointed for life, but there is little structure in place to hold them accountable when ethics concerns arise and little guidance in place for the justices to follow.

Following a growing national concern (and multiple scandals...

In an op-ed for The Hill, Campaign Legal Center President and Founder Trevor Potter takes a closer look at the risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) being used to create political communications and advertising as we head into the 2024 elections. Potter’s op-ed makes the point that the ease with which AI technology can be used to make...

As an independent, nonpartisan entity, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) investigates allegations of ethical misconduct made against members of the House of Representatives and their staff. The OCE is essential to both actual enforcement of the law and maintaining transparency regarding these investigations. 

But a problematic trend has...

Last week, Rep. Mike Johnson — a “key architect of Republicans’ objections to certifying Mr. Biden’s victory on Jan. 6,” according to the New York Times — was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.   

It’s important to understand that our elections are safe, secure and accurate. Yet someone who refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of...

The U.S. Senate has a well-established ethics enforcement problem. Campaign Legal Center has been highlighting the Senate Ethics Committee’s inadequacies since 2014, when we found the committee’s enforcement process limited and opaque.  

In early 2021, CLC conducted a comparative study to evaluate 10 years of ethics enforcement in the U.S. House...

Everyday Americans keep our elections fair — and they take this responsibility seriously. In recent years, however, individuals who have spent their careers safeguarding the electoral process are facing unprecedented levels of harassment and are leaving the profession in droves.

A recent poll reveals a high rate of turnover among election workers...

Real transparency about the ever-increasing amount of money spent to influence elections — including the large sums raised and spent by national political parties for things like conventions and party headquarters — leads to more accountability. When voters know who is cutting big checks to help Democrats buy office space or fund a Republican...

UPDATE: On May 23, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a unanimous federal three-judge court ruling that had ordered the redrawing of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District for discriminating against Black voters. Read Campaign Legal Center's statement here.

Our democracy is meant to be of, by, and for the people — meaning voters have a...

To ensure integrity in Congress, the U.S. Constitution gives the House and the Senate authority to establish ethics rules and impose discipline for improper behavior in each chamber. This broad mandate has produced numerous laws that provide guardrails against corruption, including mandatory financial disclosures, limitations on fundraising...

Democracy is at its strongest when diverse voices collaborate. This week, CLC officially launches a new live streaming event series called Campaign Legal Conversations. 

Campaign Legal Conversations is a forum featuring dialogues about American democracy. As we head into the 2024 presidential election, this series features change-makers, authors...

Federal campaign finance laws uphold the fundamental right of voters to meaningfully engage in the democratic process, including by ensuring voters know who is paying to influence our elections and our government when deciding who to vote for. 

But our elections are also at risk from bad actors that seek to manipulate and deceive voters...

Our federal campaign finance laws ensure transparency about who’s spending money to influence elections and are an essential tool for holding candidates accountable for the money they raise and spend in pursuit of public office.  

These laws are also crucial for ensuring our system is fair and representative and protecting every American’s right...

Our democracy works best when every voter can participate. Yet Arizona, in 2022, passed two anti-voter laws, H.B. 2492 and H.B. 2243, that undermined Arizonans’ access to the ballot box.  

These laws, effective since January 1, 2023, severely restricted the ability of Arizonans—particularly Latino and Native Arizonans—from exercising their freedom...