As Congress and the president prepare to strengthen election security before the end of the year, Issue One CEO Nick Penniman issued the following statement: “This week, the House and Senate proved they can agree on one thing: Securing our elections. The nearly half a billion dollars in additional federal funding for states to is a significant down-payment in
Read MoreToday, Issue One and 24 other organizations and individuals from across the political spectrum called on U.S. House leadership to extend the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress in a joint letter. The letter states: “We are a diverse mix of organizations and individuals with decades of experience in congressional operations, procedure, technology, and public policy. We strongly urge
Read MoreToday, Republican and Democratic former Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta, former Acting Homeland Security Secretary Admiral James Loy, and 90 other former members of Congress, governors, and Cabinet secretaries from both parties, called on the U.S. Senate to support a suite of bipartisan bills that would defend America’s elections against foreign interference. They are members of Issue One’s
Read MoreMore than half of all freshman House members have formed leadership PACs — political committees that are frequently criticized as slush funds — according to an Issue One review of federal campaign finance filings. “It takes shockingly little time for politicians to adopt the ways of Washington,” said Issue One CEO Nick Penniman. “Leadership PACs are little-known outside the Beltway,
Read MoreThis op-ed originally appeared in The Fulcrum. I started Issue One five years ago to recruit more voices from inside and outside Washington into the movement fixing our ailing democracy. Since then, I’ve addressed large crowds; sat with members of Congress from both parties; moderated sessions with billionaires; debated professors; convened lawyers, think tanks and advocacy groups; advised political candidates
Read MoreThis week, Reps. Pete Olson (R-TX) and Jim Cooper (D-TN) joined in sponsoring the bipartisan Honest Ads Act, the best first step to protect U.S. elections from foreign interference. They join Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD) who also signed on to the bill this week, bringing the total number of sponsors to 33 members in the House
Read MoreIn response to special counsel Robert Mueller’s public remarks today that Russia’s multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our elections “deserve the attention of every American,” Issue One CEO Nick Penniman released the following statement: “Special counsel Mueller repeatedly stressed that there was widespread, organized interference in our elections by a foreign power, and that all Americans need to be
Read MoreAs the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress voted out its first series of reforms today, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee released the following statement: “At a time when politics is so divisive, it is refreshing to see bipartisanship in action. It is also heartening that the modernizing committee is already moving to increase transparency and help make
Read MoreAt a public meeting of the Federal Election Commission today in Washington, D.C., the commissioners discussed two issues related to foreign interference in U.S. elections. Since September 2018, a bipartisan group called Defending Digital Campaigns has been seeking the FEC’s permission to offer cybersecurity services to federal candidates and party committees, from across the ideological spectrum, at free or reduced
Read MoreLast week, House Democrats introduced the most robust package of democracy reforms proposed in a generation as their lead priority for the 116th Congress. It is an incredibly heartening and hopeful sign for all of us concerned about the weakening of democracy at home and rapid rise of authoritarianism abroad. But we need more than good policy ideas at this
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