Legislative Blog
J.B. Williams, J.D.
Campaign Finance Transparency
A Blog about Freedom to Vote 2021
A Bit of Background
The following backgrounds help summarize the author's views on both the general topic: Federal and more specifically Freedom to Vote 2021 as it relates to that topic.
Brief Summary of Federal
This should be a fairly limited bills area for management the overall structures like highways, military, federal buildings, federal laws, and the like. However it has become the micro manager of all micro managers. They get involved in areas that no federal government should be involved in, and shift more power upward. This has led to each party trying to run over the other party in the eyes of the voters, all the while doing everything possible to maintain their power. They do this by holding onto all of the money, and claiming they know best how it should be spent. But they run debts so badly that no one should be looking to them as an example of anything other than the way to overspend and go further into debt.
Summary of Freedom to Vote 2021
John R. Lewis Act. While I understand the Federal Government's duty to ensure that it's citizen can vote freely, the extensive rules being proposed will force one of two actions. Either the state will 100% follow the federal guidelines and have none of their own, possibly to the detriment of it's citizens. Or the state will have one set of rules for federal voting and another set of rules for state voting. There by creating issues of federal funding to a state and/or confusion from it's citizens regarding rules for voting.
Blog Summary
Federal campaign finance found that an experienced political consultant knowingly and willfully violated Federal law by soliciting a contribution from a foreign national by offering to transmit $2 Million to a super PAC through his company.
There is a concern that the People's Republic of China is placing significant targeted ads that are advancing Chinese propaganda.
Campaign Finance Transparency
Published: 2021-12-08
Campaign Finance Transparency
Disclose Act - Subtitle A
Organizations and business leagues can use funds to influence elections as long as political activity is not their primary activity. Super PACs can accet and spend unlimited contributions from any non-foreign source. They spent over $1 billion in the 2020 election cycle on political activities. Nonprofits have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to influence nominations and comfirmations of Federal judges over the past decade. A single organization spent nearly $40 million supporting or opposing Supreme Court nominees since 2016. Rules for money spent on these needs to be required to disclosed, the same as election contributions.
Congress stated the the Federal campaign finance process found that an experience political consultant had knowingly and willfully violate Federal law by soliciting a contribution from a foreign national by offering to transmit $2 million to as super PAC through his company. This occuried in 2021. They want to ensure that any organizing donating over $10K make a report to the commission within 24 hours, and disclose the beneficial owner exercising control over the entity along with a myriad of additional information.
They want to look at advertising in a broader sense. So an applicable public communication that a reasonable person can only view as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for election for Federal office. It can promoto or support a candidate, attack or oppose a candidate. News story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station or any print, online, or digital newspaper, magazine, publication, or periodical unless they are owned or controlled by a political party or political committee or candidate. Covered organization includes a corporation, LLC, a 502(c), labor organization, any political organization. There are of course exceptions. And the want money spent for federal judicial nominations disclosed as well.
Honest Ads - Subtitle B
There is concern due to low cost but targeted advertising through on line sites. Since it is targeted, advertising can be modified to present different information to differnt viewers. Also 2 companies own 8 of the 10 most popular smart phone applications as of June 2017, including popular media and email services. Those 2 companies also account for 99 percent of revenue growth of gross spending. And the large social media platforms have possession of key data related to the paid online ads. The disclosure of this information would be useful for informing the electorate, guarding against corruption, and aiding in enforcement. Or individuals could actually work to confirm information rather than just believing it because it was on the internet. This is true even of news reports. Because while Congress is busy acting like they are going to help, they are not looking at the false information that was published by fact check sites or news media.
Reports have indicated that online ads are a key vector for strategic influence by the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government and Chinese state-owned enterprises are major purchasers and are using them to advance Chinese propoganda. There are a bunch of rules that are being made to try to ensure the voters are informed. And while they are being made with the best of intentions, if the general public believes that someone else is protecting them from false information they will continue to believe false information. All it ensures is that people continue to not do any research on their own and believe whomever. And again the federal government deciding what is true and false does not make it true or false. There have been so many issues that were treated as false and were later shown to be true that even they cannot be trusted.
Title VII - Campaign Finance Oversight
Stopping Super-PAC Candidate Coordination - Subtitle A
This addresses expenses paid by Super-PACs that are not currently treated as donations to candidates. But it continues to address those made in cooperation or consultation with the party or candidate. Based upon the wording I am guessing that there will be a multitude of arguments made over whether they were made in cooperation or coordination with. Unfortunately even if they later pay a fine and say it may have been made in cooperation with, it will be after the fact and people will have relied on the information being independent. It is merely a means of the parties virtue signaling that they are looking out for their constituents. In the end it will create more fodder for claims to be made about this and that, and create and sow more division and more confusion.
Restoring Integrity to America's Elections - Subtitle B
Creates a multitude of rules for when a violation should move forward. These are treated as IRS violations. It also creates penalties that are permitted, and ex parte (speaking with a judge without the other party present) rules.
Imposition of Fee for Reports Filed by Paper - Subtitle C
Sets a $20 fee for filing.
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