Your one-stop destination for political reform, government ethics and accountability news and updates from a nonpartisan perspective.
This week’s bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian foreign interference in the 2016 election is the latest and most definitive case for new legislation that would help improve transparency for online political ads as a way to bolster election security. “The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 requires political advertisements on television, radio, and satellite to disclose the sponsor
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Many presidential candidates are relying on networks of wealthy, well-connected donors to help them raise large sums of campaign cash. Will any of these White House hopefuls publicly disclose the names of these elite fundraisers? They should, according to a new letter sent today by Issue One and 15 other organizations from across the ideological spectrum to all Republican and
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
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Today marks the start of the second month since the Federal Election Commission (FEC) lost its ability to do its job due to the resignation of one commissioner. Three seats on the six-member FEC are now vacant, leaving the agency that oversees all federal campaign finance issues one person short of a quorum. Without a quorum, the FEC cannot resolve
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Election security experts were optimistic of Capitol Hill’s efforts to prevent foreign interference and harden U.S. election infrastructure ahead of November 2020 but called for more action at a staff briefing today. The panel was hosted and moderated by Issue One CEO Nick Penniman as part of our “Don’t Mess With US” project. “Election security is the greatest crisis facing our
Read MoreToday, Issue One launched FEC M.I.A. to hold the president and Senate accountable for allowing the nation’s election watchdog to effectively shutter, and call on all six seats on the FEC to be filled by new commissioners. “The Federal Election Commission was already broken, but now it is in shambles and can’t even perform the most basic law-enforcement functions as
Read MoreThis week, Arizona Republican Senator Martha McSally co-sponsored the DETER Act (S. 1060), one of the bills in the suite of legislative proposals Issue One’s “Don’t Mess With US” project highlights as necessary to stop foreign attacks on our political system. In July, Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) — lead sponsors of the DETER Act —
Read MoreThis week, Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) joined in co-sponsoring the Honest Ads Act, the best first step to secure our elections by preventing paid, foreign disinformation campaigns on the largest online platforms. This brings the total number of sponsors in the House and Senate to 39 — 19 Republicans and 20 Democrats. “The Honest Ads Act
Read MoreIssue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee issued the following statement: This morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) walked back his staunch opposition to further securing our elections and said he is now willing to support additional grant money to the states. This move follows pressure from a growing number of groups from across the political spectrum that have been
Read MoreToday, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon, retired Lieutenant Colonel and President of the London Center for Policy Research Tony Shaffer, and Vice President for Programs at National Election Defense Coalition Susan Greenhalgh called on Congress to strengthen our national security and provide support to states to protect our elections ahead of 2020. The press
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