Campaign Finance

President Biden's important speech today in Philadelphia about protecting the freedom to vote must be met with the Senate passing legislation before they depart for their August recess. We thank him for his bold remarks. As the President said, there is an unfolding assault on democracy and on liberty today with clear attempts to suppress and subvert the freedom to vote in free and fair elections. Administrative action, litigation, and organizing are critical to combat this, but these tactics are not a substitute for congressional action on the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.   As the President ramps-up his use of the bully pulpit and engages with senators, we urge him to make clear that the Senate minority’s use of the filibuster—a Jim Crow relic, in the words of former President Obama—must never stand in the way of the freedom to vote.

Paul Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at campaign finance reform group Common Cause, told The Daily Beast that Trump may be keenly concerned about the issue if he has plans to supercharge one of his existing PACs. “The potential violations will get really serious if Trump uses an unlimited-money vehicle to promote a 2024 run,” Ryan said. “I’m a little surprised he hasn’t done this yet.” Ryan, of Common Cause, pointed to a unanimous 2019 FEC decision which found reason to believe Trump’s 2016 opponent, then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, violated these rules. “Trump is on notice regarding how the FEC interprets these laws,” he said. “Any Trump violations would arguably be knowing and willful, subjecting him to potential criminal prosecution.”

A letter signed by almost 100 small business and community leaders urging Senator Susan Collins to support the “For the People Act” was released at an event at Portland City Hall. More than four dozen people gathered at a rally sponsored by Common Cause to hear local business leaders explain why the bill needs to become law.

“[T]his was not a campaign finance disclosure case, and campaign finance laws remain constitutional and vitally important despite the Court’s decision today,” Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn said in a statement Thursday.

Today, Common Cause filed comments with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in support of a petition for rulemaking filed by former congressional candidate Nabilah Islam to allow candidates to utilize their campaign accounts to pay for health insurance and include a living-wage floor as part of the salary formula to make the funds available from the beginning of a candidate’s campaign.

“Nobody’s free until everyone is free,” civil rights hero Fannie Lou Hamer said. She is right. That’s why on this Fourth of July, it’s time that we, as Americans, hold ourselves up to the values we claim in our founding documents: that all people are created equal and that “We the People” are responsible for building a more perfect union, based on justice, tranquility and liberty. It’s time we build an inclusive democracy, where everyone has a voice, can exercise their freedom to vote, and is able to participate in our democracy.