To: The North Carolina State Senate and Governor Roy Cooper
Mystery Money in NC Elections
Democracy North Carolina
Secretive groups are spending millions on attack ads against candidates of both major parties. The US Supreme Court assumed we'd have strong disclosure laws but we don't in North Carolina. Candidates are also raising millions, but the mountains of paper campaign disclosure reports are nearly impossible for the Board of Elections to process.
The NC House passed two bipartisan bills (H918 and H919) that would require rapid disclosure of who's donating the outside mystery money and also require electronic reporting by most candidates. Please improve confidence and accountability in our elections. Use your leadership to pass these bills through the state Senate and the General Assembly. Thank you!
The NC House passed two bipartisan bills (H918 and H919) that would require rapid disclosure of who's donating the outside mystery money and also require electronic reporting by most candidates. Please improve confidence and accountability in our elections. Use your leadership to pass these bills through the state Senate and the General Assembly. Thank you!
Why is this important?
Mystery groups have already spent over $1 million in the primary election for just one seat on the NC Supreme Court. More money for nasty ads is coming into the state every day. The US Supreme Court opened the floodgates for Super PACs and outside groups in its Citizens United decision. It argued that big money would be held accountability through "modern disclosure" - rapid, electronic reporting of who's behind the money. But we don't even have that tool of accountability in North Carolina!
Candidates are also raising millions of dollars and a majority only submit paper reports disclosing information about the donors. The State Board of Elections is swamped in paper. Fortunately, a bipartisan coalition in the NC House passed two bills to improve all this and now it's up to the NC Senate to pass them. H918 requires rapid, electronic disclosure of outside groups spending big money; H919 requires candidates raising over $10,000 to submit detailed, electronic disclosure reports. That's a good start!
If you live in North Carolina, please support these measures by signing the petition.
Candidates are also raising millions of dollars and a majority only submit paper reports disclosing information about the donors. The State Board of Elections is swamped in paper. Fortunately, a bipartisan coalition in the NC House passed two bills to improve all this and now it's up to the NC Senate to pass them. H918 requires rapid, electronic disclosure of outside groups spending big money; H919 requires candidates raising over $10,000 to submit detailed, electronic disclosure reports. That's a good start!
If you live in North Carolina, please support these measures by signing the petition.