Co-authored by Daniel Hensel This year, residents of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District were bombarded with a seemingly never-ending cascade of political advertisements. But figuring out who was really behind this $60 million spending spree is nothing short of a Herculean task. Our disclosure laws are outdated. While the sponsors of ads must be disclosed, the names of politically active groups
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We’re excited to announce that we’ve just updated our groundbreaking Blueprints for Democracy report with the latest money-in-politics and lobbying reforms from across the U.S. During the 2016 elections voters around the country passed several different reforms to their state and local campaign finance systems. Many of the changes are unprecedented, they’re wholly new and innovative systems designed to meet
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On November 8, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump’s call to “drain the swamp” clearly resonated with many voters. While most of the news coverage is focusing on Mr. Trump, voters also showed their hunger for change by approving several important state and local ballot initiatives that will reduce the power of special interests and open up state and local politics to
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This is part of a series examining ethics, transparency and campaign finance proposals in the states. Next week, voters around the country will finally have a chance to vote for the next president and, in a handful of cases, the health of their local democracy. Here are the ballot initiatives in cities and states that try to directly address our
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Issue One is excited to welcome former Republican Ohio Congresswoman Deborah Pryce to the ReFormers Caucus. Congresswoman Pryce joins more than 150 fellow ReFormers in the fight to reduce the power of money in politics and and fix the broken political system. Congresswoman Pryce represented the 15th district of Ohio from 1993 to 2009. While in office, she was a
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With the 2016 elections nearly a month away, it’s time for an update on the various state ballot initiative efforts at money-in-politics reform around the country. Oregon Oregon is one of six states with no limit on campaign contributions. As a result, the Center for Public Integrity ranked the state second to last for its campaign finance system. Thankfully, Multnomah
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This op-ed originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. While former Gov. Rick Perry may be cha-cha-ing on Dancing with the Stars, it’s the cha-ching of the 2016 presidential campaign Texans should remember. Why? Because high-profile Texans including Perry and Sen. Ted Cruz worked the levers of our broken campaign finance system to the tune of millions of dollars in their race to the
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While Florida’s well-financed sons Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio campaigned and lost this cycle’s presidential contest, advocates in Miami-Dade County are still striving for a money-in-politics victory. And thanks to County Judge William Thomas, they just moved one step closer. On Friday, he ordered a citizen-backed referendum that proposes a number of campaign finance-related changes be placed on
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This is part of a series examining ethics, transparency and campaign finance proposals in the states. It’s an all-too-common refrain in politics: when Congress can’t pass legislation, the states take command of the issue and create solutions on their own. Campaign finance reform is no exception. A number of states have upcoming bipartisan ballot initiatives or bills pending in their legislatures
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“What we need is a real debate between candidates right now about exactly what they would do to fix this problem.” Executive Director Nick Penniman talked with C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and answered calls from viewers around the country about why voters need to demand real solutions from candidates for elected office—whether state representative, member of Congress or the next president.
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