Thank you @amyklobuchar, @LindseyGrahamSC & @MarkWarner for introducing the bipartisan “Honest Ads Act.” This is commonsense legislation that will help #voters make informed choices by revealing the true sources of spending behind online ads. (1/) klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.c… A man I used to call “boss,” Senator John McCain, was an original co-sponsor of the “Honest Ads Act” when it was first introduced in 2017. He recognized the need to update our laws to account for the proliferation of political ads in the online world. (2/) klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.c…

Post-midterm reflections THREAD: I am #thankful for every voter who looked at the candidates on their ballot and chose those who respect our electoral process over those who do not, especially candidates running for important election-related offices such as Secretary of State. I give thanks for the thousands of volunteers and election officials who worked to ensure that #voting and vote counting proceeded efficiently and fairly. #midterms2022 #VotingRights

THANK YOU election officials/poll workers/volunteers who worked & continue to work to ensure that #Midterms2022 are carried out successfully. Nationally this election has been free of major issues, and Americans should feel confident about the voting/vote counting process. While many are focused on the horse race for control of #Congress it is worth noting that #Midterms2022 produced a number of pro-democracy gains through ballot initiatives, many of which received strong majority support. #DemocracyWins

Election Day is the heart of our #democracy. The ability to choose our elected officials should never be taken for granted. I encourage all eligible voters to make their voices heard, and if you encounter any problems, call or text 866-OUR-VOTE. #ElectionDay2022 I encourage all Americans, especially those running for office, to exercise patience after election day. This is expected to be a high-turnout election with many close races, and a number of states will not start counting mail-in ballots until election day.

On #NationalVoterRegistrationDay I want to commend everyone who is working to get fellow citizens registered, in particular, the work being done to restore voting rights to people with past felony convictions, including @GicolaLane, @BlairBowie and other @CampaignLegal staff. A past felony conviction should never serve as grounds for permanently banning citizens from the voting booth. Today nearly 17m people can vote, or have their rights restored, but are effectively disenfranchised. #NationalVoterRegistrationDay LEARN MORE: campaignlegal.org/cases-actions/…

There are 3 anti-democracy “riders” buried in the “must pass” omnibus funding bill before Congress right now that are terrible news — that would damage political transparency and violate voters' right to know who is spending big money to influence our government. 🧵 1/5 The first would stop @SECGov from finalizing a rule requiring corporations to disclose their political spending to shareholders and the public. The public petition for this rulemaking at the SEC has received 1.2 million public comments — the most in the agency’s history. 2/5

In @POTUS's #StateOfTheUnion speech tomorrow night, one of the things I'll be listening for is whether President @JoeBiden asks Congress to pass solutions to address congressional stock trading. President @BarackObama made a similar ask to Congress 10 years ago. 1/5 When we elect our representatives and send them to the U.S. Congress (assuming you aren't a resident of Washington, D.C. and don’t have full congressional representation but should!), we want them to make decisions in our best interest — the public interest. 2/5

As the 2022 midterms rapidly approach, Congress is doing what needs to be done to advance legislation protecting the freedom to vote. Protecting our democracy is not a partisan issue. 1/4

https://twitter.com/civilrightsorg/status/1481665761970163714?s=20

The U.S. Senate now has the opportunity to restore a strong, free and fair voting system in this country and ensure the ability for every American to participate in safe, accessible and transparent elections. 2/4

Throughout my time in money-in-politics & democracy advocacy (from @FEC to Colbert to @CampaignLegal), it's become clear to me that too many Americans see our political system as rigged, corrupt, secretive & unaccountable.

This is why we need #FreedomToVoteAct + #JohnLewisVRAA. I noted in my July 4, 2016 speech to @chq ("A Republic—If You Can Keep It!") that, at the time, 79% of Americans thought gov't is “run by a few big interests looking out for themselves" & 75% believed “corruption is widespread throughout the government”.
campaignlegal.org/document/repub…

Much attention in 2022 will be paid to what politicians are doing about democracy.

But you may be wondering: what can *I* do to support #democracy in 2022?

I put some ideas down here in a thread: In 2022, you can #volunteer. Whether that’s helping your neighbors register to vote or becoming a poll worker, your time and talent can help advance democracy. Connecting with local groups or your local election office can help you find an opportunity you like.

While today’s lack of bipartisan support for a vote on the #FreedomToVoteAct was not an enormous surprise, it was still disappointing to see this reaction to the most significant #votingrights bill in a generation. 1/5 #FreedomToVote
campaignlegal.org/update/senates… This is a transformative piece of legislation that, if enacted, will increase Americans’ access to the ballot box, neutralize partisan and racial gerrymandering and increase transparency in our campaign finance system to counteract the impact of dark money secret spending. 2/5

The @FEC is responsible for enforcing campaign finance laws for presidential & congressional campaigns.

Today is its "birthday," but there's not much to celebrate: it has repeatedly failed to do its job, w/ real consequences that impact our lives. Thread:
campaignlegal.org/update/lets-ce… Its commissioners routinely deadlock and fail to hold bad actors accountable. The @FEC is not just another example of a dysfunctional government bureaucracy: the problem at the @FEC is about commissioners who do not believe in the role of the agency.

Yesterday, top Trump donor & fund-raiser and inaugural committee chairman Thomas #Barrack was arrested & charged with illegally working to influence the foreign policy of the U.S. government.

Here's a thread with some of my thoughts 👇 #BarrackIndictment
nytimes.com/2021/07/20/us/… This case is about transparency and ethics, but this is also a tale of the problems and dangers of our current campaign finance system: a system that enables wealthy interests to gain outsized influence with our government, creating the conditions for the privileged access and...

Substantively, this matter is about the importance of transparency—the voters obviously should have known about McDougal’s allegations well before the elections, and AMI’s illegal hush money payment meant they did not.

https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1400166091586932736

But this isn’t an example of @FEC enforcement—it is almost five years after the 2016 election, and all the investigative work was done by the federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. The FEC is just free-riding here.

A7: #S1TownHall #S1’s small-donor program builds on programs that have been successful in cities and states across the country. Because candidates are incentivized to seek support from small donors and small donors are empowered by the matching funds to provide impactful...

https://twitter.com/JanaLMorgan/status/1377317861459394564

...financial support to their preferred candidates, these programs have led to big increases in small donors and significantly decreased reliance on wealthy special interests. Freed from dependence on a few big donors, elected officials can focus on implementing policies that...

A1: #S1TownHall Economic inequality means that most personal wealth in the US is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small minority, and the historic legacy of racism and sexism means that these wealthy few are overwhelmingly white and male. The heavy reliance of our...

https://twitter.com/JanaLMorgan/status/1377305022401290257

...campaign system on individual and corporate PAC contributions in turn, means that our government is often tilted towards the interests of a white male donor class, and the donor class looks nothing like the American public, but has a disproportionate level of influence over...

I’m about to head into the U.S. Senate Rules Committee to testify in support of the #ForThePeopleAct, #S1. This legislation will strengthen democracy for all Americans, regardless of political party. The livestream of the hearing should be available here:
rules.senate.gov/hearings/s1-th… The #ForThePeopleAct will crack down on political corruption in both parties, limit the influence donors have over politicians, prevent foreign money from coming into America's elections, strengthen ethics laws...
campaignlegal.org/update/how-hr-…

The @nytimes reported today that Donald Trump may have illegally financed his 2016 campaign with a secret loan that potentially exceeded legal limits. The report is the latest in a Times series examining Trump's tax returns. Thread below. (1/8)
nytimes.com/interactive/20… The @nytimes reports that in September 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, Trump quietly took out a $30 million bank loan in the name of an LLC that he jointly owns with billionaire developer Phil Ruffin, with Trump Tower Las Vegas as collateral. (2/8)