Summer 2012 Updates on Money and Elections
United States v. Danielcyzk
At the end of June, the Fourth Circuit Court decided on United States v. Danielcyzk (.pdf), a case that is important with regards to campaign finance disclosure. The Circuit court decision upholds the current federal ban on corporate contributions that is located in the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act.
The Fourth Circuit found that Citizens United only applies to independent expenditures, not corporate contributions. The government still has the power to band corporate campaign contributions in order to prevent corruption in future campaigns and elections.
As Shanna Reulbach from the Brennan Center for Justice points out, the heart of the Circuit Court’s decision is the difference between independent expenditures and corporate contributions in terms of the First Amendment. Contributions are not necessarily funds directly used for speech; rather they are funds, given to another individual to be used however the receiver decides to use them.
The Danielcyzk decision limits the reach of Citizens United by upholding the ability for the government to ban corporate campaign contributions. The decision takes an important step in creating fairer elections in the United States.
DISCLOSE Act 2012
The DISCLOSE Act was first introduced in 2010 as a response to Citizens United. Since 2010, every time the Act has been introduced in Congress it has been shot down. Near the end of July, the U.S. Senate discussed and voted on the 2012 DISCLOSE Act. On Tuesday July 17, Senate Republicans unanimously voted against the bill, which did not allow supporters to obtain the 60 votes needed to overcome the GOP filibuster.
The purpose of the DISCLOSE Act is to enhance transparency in campaign finance contributions. The bill would require groups involved in political advertising to disclose the names of those who donate $10,000 or more. Currently, the names of donors do not have to be reported. This becomes particularly problematic with outside groups, specifically nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations with 501(c)(4) status because those organizations are not considered political committees to the Federal Elections Commission, therefore they do not have to report information about specific donor contributions no matter the amount given.
In the wake of Citizens United, the need for greater transparency and accountability for the money donated to political campaigns is increasing. The passage of the 2012 DISCLOSE Act would have increased disclosure, making for fairer elections. Disclosure should be (and historically has been) a nonpartisan issue that every citizen and voter should care about.