WASHINGTON - Moves by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-W.I.) and others in his state to undermine a bipartisan elections agency and threaten its members with legal action are part of a concerning and ongoing trend that, if left unchecked, stands to sabotage the American electoral process.

Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a Republican former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, released the following statement:

“In recent months, partisan attempts to undermine legitimate and fair American elections have found shocking amounts of support and gained a concerning amount of traction. In states including Georgia, Texas, and Arizona, Republican elected officials have introduced bills or otherwise taken action deliberately targeting election officials with criminal penalties for doing their job.

More recently and most troubling, Republicans in Wisconsin – many of them the same partisan actors who engaged in a deliberate disinformation campaign following the results of the 2020 election – have begun taking steps for the avowed purpose of allowing the party to take full control over the electoral process in future elections. They are objecting to a March 2020 vote by the Wisconsin Elections Commission to make it possible for residents of Wisconsin nursing homes to vote during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wisconsin law had required two visits by state officials to nursing homes before residents could receive mail ballots, but it was impossible for outsiders to enter nursing homes during the COVID lockdown because of health dangers to the residents. Led by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and G.O.P speaker of the State Assembly Robin Vos, Republican officials have begun directly targeting the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, declaring that “prosecutors around the state” should determine whether to bring charges against members of the commission for their March 2020 vote, which was supported by commissioners from both parties.

Our freedom to vote is meaningless unless our votes are reliably counted and respected. Partisan subversion of those time-tested practices, from any holder of political power, is a danger to all our freedom to vote. For far too long, we have seen that elected officials are willing to go to great lengths to choose their voters and undermine the voices of our communities. After attempting and failing to overturn the result of the 2020 election, officials motived solely by partisanship are trying to make sure their next attempt to sabotage our elections succeeds.

For those who repeatedly seek to sabotage our elections, partisan manipulation of election officials is just another extension of that practice. The upcoming 2022 midterms and the next presidential election could be the most contentious elections in our nation’s history. We need to ensure that it is the voters who decide these elections. This central tenet of our democracy should not be undermined by partisan officials who want to stay in power."

When candidates raise funds after an election to repay personal loans to their own campaigns, the risk of corruption is self-evident and voters lose out on essential knowledge until it is too late. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Cause and Democracy 21 filed an amicus brief in Federal Election Commission (FEC) v. Ted Cruz for Senate to defend a law that prevents potential corruption from arising when politicians make large personal loans to their own campaigns only to repay them with donations received after Election Day.  

Federal law limits candidates from using more than $250,000 in contributions raised after the date of an election to repay outstanding personal loans candidates make to their campaigns. In 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-T.X.) put $260,000 of his own money into his reelection and sued the FEC the following year, complaining that this law prevented him from paying off the last $10,000 with post-election contributions. In June, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals sided with Sen. Cruz, striking down the limit on the amount candidates can raise post-election to repay personal loans to their campaigns. 

“At hand here is the risk of corruption posed by what is, functionally, a personal gift to a candidate,” said Tara Malloy, senior director for appellate litigation and strategy at Campaign Legal Center. “What should concern all voters is that the funds raised for such a purpose are not the typical campaign contributions made to a candidate to support an active campaign; instead, they are solicited after the election has occurred for the sole purpose of repaying the candidate’s personal campaign loans—and thus the money effectively goes right into that candidate’s pocket.” 

“Allowing donors to repay candidates’ loans is a shell game that breeds cynicism about our elections. Campaign donations end up in the candidate’s pocket, after the election – while voters are deprived of information about who’s funding the candidate, while deciding how to vote,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. “Without the loan repayment limit, the opportunity for corruption is enormous: an officeholder could raise millions of dollars from special interests and lobbyists after an election and pocket that money in the form of a loan repayment. And with a Senate election, it would be six years before the voters have a chance to act on that information.”

“The Supreme Court should make short work of rejecting Senator Cruz’s constitutional challenge,” Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer said. “The money a candidate raises after an election to repay his loans to the campaign goes directly into the candidate’s pocket,” Wertheimer said. “Those contributors are in reality making a gift of money to the candidate for personal use. For a winning candidate this presents an obvious danger for corruption and the appearance of corruption. The Court should uphold the constitutionality of the contribution limit, consistent with the many rules limiting personal gifts to officeholders that are in place for all three branches of government.”

"It is incredibly corrupting to allow unlimited amounts of money given to a campaign after a candidate has won to flow straight into the candidate's hands under the guise of a 'loan repayment,'" said CREW President Noah Bookbinder. "Reinstating the limit will protect the public from the danger of letting candidates personally benefit from donations that have nothing to do with the actual election."

Voters have a right to know which wealthy special interests are writing checks to the candidates on their ballot, a form of knowledge that becomes useless if that check is written after votes are cast. It should be no surprise that Americans overwhelmingly express concern over the potentially corruptive nature of post-election campaign contributions.   

At Campaign Legal Center, we are advancing democracy through law. Learn more about our work.

KANSAS CITY, KS - On Nov. 19, 2021, a federal court temporarily blocked certain anti-voter provisions in the Kansas law H.B. 2332. The court ruled that the challenged parts of H.B. 2332 likely violate the First Amendment rights of nonpartisan organizations to engage in political speech by restricting their ability to distribute mail ballot applications to voters to promote higher levels of voting. 

In June 2021, Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Kansas attorney Mark Johnson filed the suit on behalf of VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center to protect voter access to mail ballot applications in the state. The two nonprofit charitable organizations, VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center, engage with voters to facilitate voting by mail as a safe and secure option to exercise the right to vote.  

“By stopping this anti-voter law in its tracks, this decision protects the freedom to vote and the free speech rights of our clients,” said Paul Smith, vice president for litigation and strategy at CLC. “We will continue to protect the critical role nonpartisan, public interest organizations play in our democracy by helping voters navigate confusing systems and encouraging people to exercise their right to vote. It is vital that these organizations can continue to serve as a resource to voters.” 

“The decision by the court to pause enforcement of H.B. 2332 is an important win for Kansans and our democracy," said Tom Lopach, president and CEO of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Voter Participation Center (VPC). "H.B. 2332 would silence VPC’s civic engagement efforts and make voting more difficult for voters by threatening Kansans’ ability to vote-by-mail. We are proud to fight back against this dangerous anti-voter law and will keep working to ensure Americans across the country can make their voice heard.”

“As a former Kansas voter myself, I am ecstatic with the judge’s ruling, which recognizes and reinforces our standing as an essential NGO which offers Kansans tools and programs that facilitate access to their path to vote,” said Daniel McCarthy, Vice President of Finance and Operations at VoteAmerica. “In the 2020 general election, a record 70.9% of eligible Kansans cast a ballot. Our programs undoubtedly contributed to that record turnout and is something to be celebrated, not obstructed by Secretary of State, Scott Schwab, and the Kansas state legislature’s attempts to suppress voter access to the polls. VoteAmerica will continue the fight to protect our right to free unlimited communication of a pro-voter message and our right to associate with and empower voters to cast their ballot by any means available to them.”

Earlier this year, H.B. 2332 was passed in the Kansas legislature, and the governor vetoed the bill. The legislature overrode the governor’s veto and passed H.B. 2332, prohibiting voter engagement efforts that constitute core political speech under the First Amendment. The law banned distribution of mail ballot applications entirely by out-of-state groups and criminalized the mailing of advance mail ballot applications personalized with the voter’s name, address and other information, even if the voter provided that information and specifically requested an advance mail ballot application. 

Protections of nonpartisan organizations engaging with the political process and providing voters with necessary voting resources are vital. VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center served this important function in Kansas during the 2020 election, helping achieve historic turnout in the Sunflower State by encouraging and helping tens of thousands of Kansans to vote.

A poll by Strategies 360 found that Americans nationwide emphatically endorse efforts over the past year to give voters more options for voting safely like expanding early voting and voting-by-mail. 

At Campaign Legal Center, we are advancing democracy through law. Learn more about our work.