Campaign Legal Center Releases New Report on the FEC’s Deregulatory Trend
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has released a new report, “From Dysfunctional To Destructive: The Federal Election Commission’s Disastrous New Trend Opening the Floodgates to Big Money in Our Elections.” This research highlights the recent trend of FEC commissioners moving to roll back long-held regulations for political spending, which undermines the agency’s mission. CLC’s report proposes solutions to fix the agency.
For over a decade, the FEC routinely failed to fully uphold its mission because the agency’s six commissioners regularly split along partisan lines, deadlocking 3-3 on decisions and failing to move forward with any measure of meaningful enforcement.
But over the past two years, a new worrying trend has emerged. Four commissioners have joined together to vote in favor of 30 deregulatory decisions that reverse longstanding rules aimed at preventing violations like unlawful coordination between special interest groups and candidates, soft money being used in federal elections and secret spending that obscures the true sources of political contributions.
“Since 2022, four FEC commissioners have systematically colluded to help wealthy special interests buy elections,” says Adav Noti, executive director of CLC. “Their pro-corruption decisions are antithetical to the FEC’s mission, which is to enforce laws that guarantee voters’ rights to fair and transparent elections. These commissioners need to be replaced as soon as their terms expire, and Congress must overhaul the FEC to ensure it can never again be captured by the willing agents of big money.”
The 2024 election cycle, which occurred just weeks before the 15th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s consequential Citizens United decision, was characterized by record-breaking political spending by some of the wealthiest individuals seeking to openly and directly influence policymaking. The FEC’s deregulatory stance not only fostered an environment for 2024 candidates to take almost immediate advantage of these changes, but risks jeopardizing accountability and transparency around political expenditures.
To reverse this troublesome trajectory, CLC proposes solutions in its report aimed at fixing the agency. This month, Sean Cooksey announced his plans to resign as FEC commissioner, which could be an opportunity for reforming the selection process. A nonpartisan federal advisory panel of campaign finance experts could be created to recommend future FEC commissioners. The FEC’s nonpartisan Office of the General Counsel could also be granted the autonomy to investigate potential violations of federal campaign finance law. These solutions would not only help to fix the FEC but also ensure that our nation’s campaign finance system remains robust and keeps voters informed on money in politics.