Campaign Finance

What is Campaign Finance
Resources
Back to Committees and Advocacy

What is Campaign Finance?

The New York City League has actively supported LWVUS in its effort to enact campaign finance reform in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in "Citizens United vs. the FEC". The Court ruled in January 2010 in favor of unlimited Corporate and Union monies in "electioneering communication" (which is political advertising) as a first amendment right.

The Disclose Act was crafted by Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Christopher Van Hollen to counter the effects of unlimited monies in political campaigns with the requirement for disclosure by contributors. We urged our members to call elected officials in the House and Senate in support of the bill which passed in the House but failed to even get to the floor in the Senate.

The result was a flood of new money spent in the November elections which was undisclosed. This was a reversal of 100 years of reforms passed by Congress to curb the effects of special interest and secret monies in politics.

In response to a call to action from LWVUS following the failure of the bill in the Senate, the NYC League sent out a press release press stating our support of the bill. We will continue to take action if the bill is reintroduced.

On the State level, the League will work with LWVNY in its decade's long struggle to enact reform in New York campaign finance laws. These include reducing the sky high contribution limits to parties and to candidates, a ban on soft money to "housekeeping" accounts of political parties, a ban on transfers of monies from one political committee to another, disclosure of contributors including bundlers and some measure of public support for political campaigns as exists in NYC.

Campaign finance reform remains a priority on the State's legislative agenda and we will work together to advocate reform when the legislature convenes in January.

Resources:

1. Disclose Act
   http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h5175/show
2. A report from Nov. 9, 2010 found in the Washington Independent
   http://washingtonindependent.com/102996/lack-of-trust-may-derail-disclose-act-in-lame-duck
3. An update from Dec. 14, 2010 found in the Nonprofit Quarterly
   http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8121:states-act-on-disclose-act&catid=155:nonprofit-newswire&Itemid=986

Back to Top
Back to Committees and Advocacy