On February 27, 2020, Campaign Legal Center filed suit against the Federal Election Commission for failing to enforce transparency laws for paid election advertising on Facebook.

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that Alpha Marine Services violated the ban on federal contractors making political contributions when it gave $100,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC.  

CLC filed an amicus brief in the D.C. Circuit on April 24, 2019, defending a district court decision that struck down the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) “independent expenditure” disclosure rule because it unlawfully narrowed the contributor disclosure requirements in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) challenged the rule—which applies to independent campaign spending that expressly advocates for or against federal candidates—after the FEC used it to dismiss CREW’s complaint against Crossroads GPS, a dark-money group that has spent more than $100 million in federal elections since 2010 without disclosing a single contributor. According to a CLC analysis, the rule had kept as much as $769 million in the dark since 2010, when Citizens United freed corporations and unions to spend general treasury funds in elections.

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that VoteVets made, and Pete Buttigieg’s campaign accepted, up to $639,000 in illegal contributions in the form of coordinated communications. On February 5, 2020, a senior Buttigieg campaign official tweeted, “Pete’s military experience and closing message from Iowa work everywhere especially in Nevada where it’s critical they see this on the air through the caucus.” One week later, the super PAC VoteVets appeared to follow through on that request when it launched $639,000 in pro-Buttigieg ads in Nevada highlighting those exact themes.

CLC submitted comments to the IRS on Reg-1025308-16, in opposition to proposed rules that would eliminate confidential donor reporting for many nonprofits. The proposed rule would effectively invite illegal foreign spending in U.S. elections.

On February 3, 2020, CLC filed comments with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) opposing proposed rules that would create new obstacles for shareholders to promote transparency in corporate political spending.

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that “Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers LLC,” which gave $150,000 to the super PAC 1820 PAC just five weeks after incorporating, violated the ban on making political contributions in the name of another.

In January 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ushered in a new era of big money in politics with the misguided decision Citizens United v. FEC. But even after Citizens United, Congress and state legislatures can still enact many important money-in-politics reforms that would protect the voices of voters in our democracy. This report briefly describes the six most important and impactful reforms.

The failure of the FEC to enforce campaign finance laws has resulted in an explosion in secret spending and our politics are increasingly rigged in favor of wealthy special interests. How can the FEC be fixed?

CLC has filed with the Federal Election Commission a supplemental complaint alleging that Representative Lori Trahan knowingly and willfully violated federal law by receiving approximately $300,000 in excessive contributions for her 2018 congressional campaign and falsely reporting those contributions as personal loans.  CLC’s original complaint against Lori Trahan for Congress is available here.

CLC led a coalition of 21 organizations and individuals calling for the restoration of a voting quorum at the Federal Election Commission to protect the transparency and fairness of our elections.

A nationwide survey of likely 2020 general election voters commissioned by Campaign Legal Center finds that voters overwhelmingly want the Federal Election Commission to take a more active role in enforcing campaign finance laws. 

Undetected coordination between candidates and special interests erodes the accountability to everyday voters we need from our elected officials. The problem is especially acute with super PACs and corporations. 

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that Iowa Values violated campaign finance law by failing to register as a political committee and file required reports with the FEC. The complaint outlines a number of facts, including a fundraising appeal, a strategy memo, and digital ads that the group ran, that appear to show that Iowa Values, a 501(c)(4) organization, has the major purpose of influencing the re-election of U.S. Senator Joni Ernst and therefore should have registered as a political committee.

On November 13, 2019, Erin Chlopak, CLC’s Director of Campaign Finance Strategy, testified on behalf of North Dakotans for Public Integrity (NDPI), the committee that sponsored the transparency ballot measure that passed as a constitutional amendment in 2018. Chlopak provided to the testimony to the Interim Judiciary Committee of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, describing how wealthy special interests pour millions of dollars into state and federal elections while concealing their identity as the sources of that spending and even misleading voters about who is actually behind political advertising. Chlopak explained the U.S. Supreme Court’s long-standing approval of transparency requirements for election spending as foundational to democratic self-government and described how loopholes in current state and federal laws allow groups to spend enormous amounts of money in elections without disclosing the true source of that money. Chlopak also identified some key legislative features of election spending transparency rules that will ensure the true sources of election spending are disclosed.

On November 13, 2019, CLC submitted this statement to the Interim Judiciary Committee of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, on behalf of North Dakotans for Public Integrity. The statement urges the Committee to implement North Dakota’s new state constitutional amendment, Article XIV, in a way that provides transparency in election spending. An effective implementation of Article XIV would make sure that there are no loopholes by which wealthy special interests can secretly spend in North Dakota elections and keep their identities hidden from the public. The Committee has an opportunity now to ensure that state law complies with the transparency mandate in Article XIV and that North Dakotans have the information they need to effectively participate in our democracy.

By state, learn how online ad archives are hosted and what information must be made public.

In the face of Congressional inaction on the critical issue of online political ad transparency, states have picked up the slack, and are passing effective digital ad disclosure policies. These are the most important features of those laws.

Public financing is a promising way to amplify the voices of all citizens in a democracy of, by, and for the people. A well-designed program can create an incentive for candidates to fundraise and connect with the people they seek to represent.