Watchdogs Defend Federal Disclosure Laws in Latest Challenge Filed in Wyoming
Watchdogs Defend Federal Disclosure Laws in Latest Challenge Filed in Wyoming
Today, Democracy 21 joined the Campaign Legal Center in filing an amici brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming in the latest challenge to federal disclosure laws. Free Speech v. FEC concerns a challenge to the “subpart (b)” definition of “expressly advocating” (11 C.F.R. § 100.22(b)), as well as the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) methodology for determining when a group has campaign activity as its “major purpose,” an important step in the larger determination of political committee status.
The subpart (b) definition of express advocacy is crucial because it captures sham issue ads that do not say “vote for” or “vote against” a candidate, but “could only be interpreted by a reasonable person as containing advocacy of the election or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidate(s).”
According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer:
The plaintiffs in this case have ignored Supreme Court rulings that are directly on point in an attempt to evade campaign finance disclosures that citizens are entitled to know and that campaign finance laws require them to make. The plaintiffs, in fact, are challenging the constitutionality of a FEC regulation that is grounded in a standard established by the Supreme Court itself.
This case is another example of the legal assaults being attempted by opponents who want to wipe out the nation’s campaign finance laws. As opposed to some other campaign finance areas, however, the current Supreme Court has provided overwhelming support for the constitutionality of the kind of campaign finance disclosure requirements being challenged in this case and for the importance of citizens knowing who is financing the campaign expenditures being made to influence their votes.
In March of this year, Free Speech submitted an advisory opinion request to the FEC proposing to run a series of attack ads and seeking to avoid registering as a political committee in order to hide the identities of its contributors. Democracy 21 joined the Campaign Legal Center in filing comments with the FEC at the time urging the Commission to advise the organization “Free Speech” that many of its ads were “express advocacy,” and as a result, it would likely be required to register and report as a political committee.
This case is just one of a series of lawsuits challenging state, local and federal disclosure laws as part of a nationwide litigation campaign seeking to undermine transparency in politics.
The Legal Center and Democracy 21 were aided in this litigation by Larry B. Jones of Simpson, Kepler & Edwards, LLC, the Cody, Wyoming Division of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C.
To read the brief filed by the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, click here.
To read the comments filed with the FEC in March, click here.
