In an op-ed titled “Political ads shouldn’t be faceless on Facebook”, published today in the Charlotte Observer, Melissa Kromm, Executive Director of North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections, makes the case for the urgent need for transparency law to catch up with changing campaign practices, which increasingly rely on online and social media advertising. As…
A group of 32 legislative candidates in Virginia have signed onto a letter to the Virginia General Assembly stating their commitment to the passage of several democracy reforms, including “Virginian’s right to know the original sources of all political spending that tries to influence their votes.” We write to you today to put Richmond on…
Two California bills supported by VRTK were signed into law today by Governor Gavin Newsom. SB 47 by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) helps voters make informed decisions by requiring initiative signature gatherers to disclose the top three funders of the committee organizing the campaign to voters before they sign to qualify the initiative for…
SB 47, known as the Petition Disclose Act, has been passed by both chambers of the California Legislature and sent to Governor Newsom for his signature. The bill, which would require listing the top three funders of any proposed ballot initiative on the petitions that voters are asked to sign, is supported by Voters’ Right…
The “Sunlight on Dark Money” ballot initiative, which was placed on the ballot by members of the Board of Supervisors, requires greater disclosure of who is behind campaign ads paid for by political committees known as independent expenditures or Super PACs. Instead of the committee names the largest donors who contributed to those committees and…
Alaskans for Better Elections, a bipartisan group of community leaders, has submitted an application to gather signatures for a ballot measure requiring transparency of “dark money” spending in Alaskan elections. Voters’ Right to Know has endorsed the measure and is providing financial and strategic support to the campaign. If approved by voters in November 2020,…
There are a lot of ways to show your patriotism this Fourth of July. You can deck out in your red-white-and-blue best. You can wave sparklers or shoot off fireworks (not recommended). You can watch Joey Chestnut pound down Nathan’s Famous hot dogs on ESPN (definitely not recommended). Or you can do something to actually…
April 25, 2019—Voters’ Right to Know today announces its endorsement of two new bills under consideration by the California Legislature that would be major steps forward in bringing greater transparency to the sources of political spending in the state. AB 1217, the Issue Ad DISCLOSE Act, sponsored by Kevin Mullin, would require that lobbying issue ads—that is, ads…
April 10, 2019—Voters’ Right to Know is proud to announce its endorsement of Arizona’s proposed Outlaw Dirty Money amendment. The amendment would give the people of Arizona a right to know the original sources of money being spent to influence their elections, requiring groups making campaign media expenditures to disclose their sources of major funding. Full…
A group of Arizona voters is once again preparing to trudge up the slopes of Mount Everest. On roller skates. With hurricane force winds blowing smack into their faces. Translation: they’re going to take another run at “dark money” – specifically on lifting the shroud on the people and groups that are secretly spending big money to buy…
Armed with volunteers and 15 months until a deadline, former Attorney General Terry Goddard launched a new bid Tuesday to end “dark money” anonymous donations to Arizona political campaigns. The initiative would create a “right to know” provision in the Arizona Constitution requiring public disclosure of the name and address of any individual who has…
On Tuesday, voters in North Dakota won a landmark victory against dark-money political spending in their state. With 54% support, voters passed Measure 1, a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment establishing a new right to know the true, original sources of money being spent to influence North Dakota elections and government. Measure 1 was placed on the 2018 ballot in…
Eight months after Tempe voters chose to shine a light on dark money in political spending, Phoenix voters approved a similar measure, setting up a potential legal showdown with the state. About 87 percent of Phoenix voters said yes to Proposition 419, which is a copycat of a similar move made by Tempe voters. The…
The decision is final: A citizens initiative that aimed to eliminate “dirty money,” or anonymous political spending, in Arizona elections won’t appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. In a ruling Wednesday afternoon, the Arizona Supreme Court ordered that the “Outlaw Dirty Money Act” not appear on the ballot because supporters didn’t submit enough valid voter signatures to qualify. The order…
Last Thursday, just one day after America celebrated its anniversary of independence, Arizona voters took a monumental stand to reclaim their democracy from special interests in a grassroots campaign that should inspire us all. Persevering through the intense heat of Arizona’s summer sun, thousands of volunteers collected and turned in 285,768 signatures in an effort…
Constitutional Amendment Would Reveal True Sources of Funding to Dark Money Groups in State Elections June 27, 2018—The Outlaw Dirty Money Initiative, which would give Arizonans a constitutional right to know the sources of money being spent in their elections, is entering its final week of signature gathering. The campaign needs to meet a threshold…
June 8, 2018 – On Tuesday, voters in San Francisco passed Proposition E, a ballot measure instituting a first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products. Proposition E passed with 68% support, despite campaign spending by opposition groups that dwarfed spending by supporters. The Money Behind Proposition E The “No on Proposition E” campaign,…
On Tuesday, Californians will head to the polls to weigh in on which candidates and issues best reflect our interests as a state. No matter what your political affiliation, there’s one thing we all have in common — in order to make good decisions at the ballot box, we need access to reliable information about…
A link to the broadcast can be found here.
Voters’ Right to Know Releases Six General Principles of Effective Transparency Policy to Ensure Californians Can Know the True Sources of Money Behind Political Messages San Francisco, CA – May 24, 2018—The Voters’ Right to Know Project (VRTK), a nonpartisan effort to advance state-level policy surrounding the transparency of political spending, released its Transparency Standard…
