Disclosure & Transparency

“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,” Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the group Common Cause, said Tuesday. “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.”

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.

“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.

Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation for Common Cause, noted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly pointed to the government's interest in disclosure of political donors in past cases. And Ryan noted that Roberts did not embrace the much higher standard governments would have had to meet to impose disclosure requirements that some of the groups had sought.

It’s fitting to talk about this piece of legislation as we near the 245th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence because the For the People Act is, at its core, about freedom. It’s about our freedom to vote and choose the future we want to see for our families and communities; freedom from wealthy special interests corrupting our politics and setting the agenda; freedom from partisan politicians rigging the rules and gerrymandering maps to benefit themselves; freedom to hold those we put in elected office accountable with ironclad ethics laws. To protect these freedoms, the Senate should follow the House’s lead in passing the For the People Act, as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.