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On Sept. 17, 2021, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted written comments to the Virginia General Assembly's Joint Subcommittee to Study Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform. Our comments highlight the Supreme Court's jurisprudence upholding election disclosure laws and urge the joint subcommittee to consider transparency reforms for Virginia election campaigns.
On Sept. 15, 2021, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted comments to the Virginia State Board of Elections, urging the board to adopt rules regarding political ad disclaimers that include specific requirements for digital political ads.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted comments to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission on Aug. 20, 2021. The comments included several recommendations that would fortify the transparency of digital advertising in state elections.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a brief as amicus curiae in defense of Colorado’s disclosure law.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) sent a letter to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s office urging him to veto S.B. 636, which makes information about donors to nonprofit entities, including politically active nonprofits, confidential.
Campaign Legal Center Action (CLCA) filed suit on behalf of End Citizens United against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) after it deadlocked on and, thus, dismissed a complaint against Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), his campaign and New Republican PAC. CLCA is suing the FEC to hold Sen. Scott accountable for coordination with New Republican PAC, a super PAC which spent over $29 million supporting his election during the 2018 cycle.
Campaign Legal Center has filed an amicus brief in Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate to defend a law that prevents potential corruption from arising when politicians make personal loans to their own campaigns only to repay them with donations received after Election Day.
On August 3, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit dismissed Rio Grande Foundation’s appeal for lack of standing.
On April 23, 2021, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) posted messaging guidance for this case, advising that a case about the constitutionality of California’s confidential tax reporting law should not be permitted to dilute the Court’s well-established precedents upholding transparency laws. Permitting the wealthy and powerful to exempt themselves from disclosure to avoid a critical public response would harm political transparency laws and undercut the free flow of information and robust debate the First Amendment is meant to protect.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling declaring California’s confidential tax reporting law unconstitutional should not be permitted to dilute the Court’s well-established precedents upholding electoral transparency laws.
On July 15, 2021, Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that eighteen Democratic and Republican super PACs – which collectively spent more that $200 million in competitive U.S. Senate elections – violated federal law by concealing from voters that they were created and funded by five national super PACs aligned with congressional leadership.
On July 9, 2021, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed rulemaking comments with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) urging it to act on REG 2011-02: Internet Communication Disclaimers. This rulemaking has been languishing for almost a decade, during which time the FEC’s regulation of political advertising—especially digital ads, including those on connected television—has become dangerously outdated.
On July 7, 2021, CLC sent a letter to the DOJ requesting an investigation into whether Evan Muhlstein violated 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a) by making false representations to the FEC, and into whether those behind America Progress Now knowingly and willfully violated federal campaign finance law. The letter follows the publication in the Guardian of documents from a Facebook investigation into America Progress Now.
Campaign Legal Center and Center on Science & Technology Policy at Duke University filed a rulemaking petition with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking the agency to close transparency loopholes that have allowed campaigns and political action committees (PAC) to disguise millions of dollars in political spending.
On June 21, 2021, a federal district court issued an opinion in New Jersey Bankers Association v. Grewal that in part upheld New Jersey's longstanding statutory prohibition against banks making contributions to state candidates. CLC filed an amicus brief supporting New Jersey's defense of its bank contribution prohibition in December 2020.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) Action filed suit on behalf of End Citizens United against the FEC after it dismissed a complaint alleging the Trump campaign illegally solicited unlimited contributions to the super PAC America First Action. CLC Action is suing the FEC to force it to do its job and hold the Trump campaign accountable for violating the laws designed to limit money’s influence on politics.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted a letter to Justin Levitt, White House Senior Policy Advisor for Democracy & Voting Rights, and Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, offering suggestions regarding implementation of Executive Order 14019. Attached are six additional letters to specific federal agencies identifying ways they can assist in expanding citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted the attached letter to the chair of the North Carolina House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations, urging the chair and committee to oppose anti-transparency legislation that is before the committee. The bill, S.B. 636, would make information about donors to 501(c) nonprofit organizations confidential and prohibit the disclosure of donor information, subject to narrow legal exceptions.
On May 20, 2021, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and Issue One (IO) submitted a letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioner Sean Cooksey urging his support for a rulemaking petition to ban lawmakers from using leadership PAC funds for personal expenses.