WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against “Head East LLC” and any unknown person(s) that made a $150,000 contribution to the super PAC Best of America, which was supporting the 2024 presidential candidacy of Doug Burgum, North Dakota’s governor.  

The complaint alleges that Head East, registered in the state of North Dakota on July 24, 2023, was used to conceal the true sources of a $150,000 contribution made to the super PAC just 15 days later on August 8, 2023. Under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), “straw donor” contributions of this nature are clearly prohibited and only serve to conceal the true source of money used to influence elections.

“Straw donor schemes like the one behind Head East LLC are harmful because they deprive voters of their right to know who is spending to try and influence their votes and our government. To reduce political corruption, we need real transparency about who is spending this money so that politicians can no longer receive unlimited, secret money from wealthy special interests to support their campaigns,” said Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at Campaign Legal Center. “With super PACs primed to spend millions of dollars on this year’s presidential election, it is critical that the public has more transparency on who is behind this kind of secretive, and illegal, spending.”  

“Head East LLC” appears to have been made for the sole purpose of providing an anonymous donation to the Best of America super PAC. The LLC has no publicly available information on public databases or resources, and there is no evidence that it conducted any other activity besides making this six-figure contribution since its inception.  

Even though we expect to see a record amount of election spending from super PACs and other outside groups throughout the 2024 election cycle, federal campaign finance laws require all donors to be transparent about who they are. Those who have violated these laws in recent years have faced both civil fines and criminal indictments after their straw donor schemes came to light. The FEC needs to fully investigate this matter and enforce the law. 

Today, in a victory for North Dakota voters, a federal judge dismissed a challenge to North Dakota’s mail-in voting process.

"The fundamental right to cast your ballot and have it counted is key to our democracy,” said Barbara Headrick, president of the League of Women Voters of North Dakota. "The League will always stand up for every voter's right to cast their ballot in the way that works for them. North Dakotans deserve to have their voices heard and respected, and we’re pleased the court ruled to ensure that every validly cast mail ballot will be counted."

“In our democracy, every vote counts, and that means we must count every vote — including mail-in ballots,” said Molly Danahy, senior legal counsel for litigation at Campaign Legal Center. “We are glad a federal judge dismissed this challenge to North Dakota’s clearly lawful requirement that counties count mail-in ballots postmarked before election day, which ensures North Dakotans who vote by mail in the lead up to election day are not denied a voice in our elections.”

"Every voter deserves confidence that their voice will be heard, regardless of how they choose to submit their ballot, said Celina Stewart, chief counsel and senior director of advocacy and litigation at the League of Women Voters of the US. "We're proud that today’s decision ensures trust in the electoral process for the people of North Dakota. The League remains committed to advocating for increased access to the ballot, including voting by mail, for all voters across the country. 

North Dakota is one of several states that set uniform deadlines for the counting of mail-in ballots to help ensure postal issues don’t prevent voters from having their timely ballots counted. Under current North Dakota law, otherwise valid mail-in ballots postmarked up to the day before Election Day must be counted so long as they are received prior to the vote canvassing deadline, 13 days after the Election Day. 

In July, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed suit on behalf of Burleigh County Auditor Mark Splonskowski seeking to prevent election officials from counting mail-in ballots that are mailed before, but received after, Election Day – a move that would have needlessly upended North Dakota’s election process. Today, a federal judge dismissed this suit because Splonskowski could not demonstrate he was personally harmed by the law. As a result, North Dakotans who timely cast their mail-in ballots will continue to have their voices heard at the ballot box.  

The League of Women Voters (LWVND), represented by Campaign Legal Center, moved to intervene in the suit last August, and simultaneously asked the judge to dismiss the case.

More information about the case can be found here.

On Monday, January 29, the League of Women Voters (LWV) announced that Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, president of the organization, has passed away. The following is a statement from Trevor Potter, founder and president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC):  

“Campaign Legal Center (CLC) stands with the League of Women Voters (LWV) and pro-democracy advocates in mourning the loss of League president Dr. Deborah Ann Turner.

“Dr. Turner will be remembered as a champion for equal access to the ballot. Serving as president of the League since 2020, Dr. Turner’s fearless advocacy for a fairer and representative democracy has impacted the lives of countless voters across the nation.

“I believe the example provided by Dr. Turner’s life and leadership will inspire the League’s many dedicated advocates to continue the fight for a stronger, more inclusive electoral process.

“As we send our sincere condolences to Dr. Turner’s family, friends and colleagues, we honor her devotion to safeguarding our democracy.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the presidential campaign of Dean Phillips and the super PAC “We Deserve Better” (Better PAC) engaged in an illegal coordination scheme that violated federal campaign finance laws.  

The complaint details how two former senior advisors of the Phillips presidential campaign used nonpublic information and strategic insights to inform Better PAC’s messaging. Indeed, even the super PAC’s name appears to have been message-tested by the campaign. The former campaign advisors, Matt and Scott Krisiloff, organized Better PAC just ten days after leaving the campaign, and the super PAC has reportedly raised over $4 million from wealthy special interests. Better PAC has reported spending over $3.3 million supporting Phillips to date.  

“As a condition of their ability to raise and spend unlimited sums of money on federal elections, including money from corporations and special interests, super PACs are required by law to remain independent from the candidates they support. That means they cannot coordinate their activities with candidates or their campaigns,” said Erin Chlopak, senior director of campaign finance at Campaign Legal Center. “‘We Deserve Better’ was organized by two people who had direct access to private campaign information that appears to have informed the super PAC’s messaging and even its name. This type of illegal coordination allows a super PAC to essentially act as an arm of the Phillips campaign itself, giving the super PAC’s wealthy special interest donors undue influence over the policymaking process and drowning out the voices of everyday Americans.”    

In light of the Krisiloffs’ role as both campaign advisors and super PAC organizers, the name of the super PAC itself, and a Better PAC ad using the campaign-tested slogan “Medicare for All,” available information suggests that confidential material from campaign polling memos, focus groups and direct communications with Mr. Phillips were illegally used to shape Better PAC’s messaging.  

Election spending by outside spending groups has skyrocketed in the 14 years since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, and illegal coordination between such groups and candidates’ campaigns has gone almost entirely unchecked by the FEC. As documented in a report recently published by CLC, the actions of ‘Better PAC’ illustrate this increasingly commonplace and deeply problematic trend that serves to undermine democracy.  

Voters have a right to fair and meaningful participation in our democratic process – not a system that privileges wealthy special interests above all others. The FEC should investigate the apparent coordination between “We Deserve Better” and the Phillips presidential campaign.