Delaware’s Strong Disclosure Law Will Continue to Allow Transparency in Elections

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U.S. Supreme Court Denies Cert Petition in Delaware Strong Families v. Denn

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court today denied a petition for certiorari to hear an appeal in Delaware Strong Families v. Denn, letting stand a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision upholding the Delaware Elections Disclosure Act. Delaware’s law was proposed and signed by Governor Jack Markell in 2012 to improve transparency of outside spending in state elections.

“Delaware voters are the real winners today,” said Megan McAllen, associate counsel for the Campaign Legal Center. “This ruling ensures that they will continue to have access to the information they need to make informed decisions on Election Day. We’re also extremely pleased to see the Court refuse yet another challenge to its longstanding recognition that transparency in elections is a vital governmental interest, and that voters deserve to know the identities of the outside interests vying for their votes. Since Citizens United, the Court has been presented with many opportunities to reexamine its strong support for disclosure laws, and has turned down each one.”

Lawyers from the law firm WilmerHale and the Campaign Legal Center represented the Respondents, Delaware’s Attorney General and Commissioner of Elections.