No system allows voters easy access to identities of special interests funding campaign ads
May 17, 2010 by donal brown
Filed under 1st Amendment News, Access to Records, News & Opinion
The Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case opens the door for corporate and union interests to produce ads to influence elections in 2010, and Congress is working on a bill to shed light on sources of the ads. But a Sunlight Foundation blogger says Congress needs to amend the DISCLOSE Act to make information about the sources available online in a timely, clear, and accessible format. -db
Sunlight Foundation
Commentary
May 17, 2010
By Lisa Rosenberg
As I noted here, the Congressional response to the decision has been the introduction of the DISCLOSE Act. The provisions of that bill that aim to uncover the real money behind political ads are crucial to ensure that those who pay for the ads are accountable for what they say, and that voters have the ability to evaluate the messages they hear.
But, for those disclosures to be of the most value to the public, Congress should amend the DISCLOSE Act to require that the Federal Election Commission make that information available to the public online, in a searchable, sortable format, within 24 hours of receipt. Moreover, the FEC should be mandated to ensure that all of the disclosure information is available no later than this fall—when the 2010 election cycle will begin in earnest.
As it is written, the DISCLOSE Act would require the entities that make electioneering communications to disclose information about who is paying for those ads on their own websites. That’s important, especially for shareholders or members of an organization who have a specific interest in an organization and want to know what type of political activity it is engaging in. But, that system means that if someone wants to know how much money a particular industry sector is spending on independent political ads, they will have to engage in an ad hoc search of myriad websites to come up with a likely incomplete and unreliable result.
The DISCLOSE Act is missing a requirement for a single place that reporters, public interest groups, bloggers and every day citizens can go to find out the big picture about who is shaping the debate in elections. Right now, the FEC provides one-stop shopping so voters can find out about other election-related contributions and expenditures. Congress should amend the DISCLOSE Act to similarly require that the FEC be home to timely, detailed and easily accessible political spending by corporations and unions.
Copyright 2010 Sunlight Foundation
