Washington, DC – On Thursday, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) reintroduced the Stop Illegal Campaign Coordination Act to tackle the influence of dark money in federal elections and help restore Americans’ trust in their democracy.
Federal law prohibits campaigns from coordinating their messaging and communications with outside groups like super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporate and special interests. Yet campaigns have skirted these laws through a practice known as “redboxing,” in which they publish data and content – such as messaging points and pictures – to help supportive outside groups align their efforts.
The Stop Illegal Campaign Coordination Act would explicitly target redboxing by establishing clear legal standards for the Federal Election Commission to assess and determine campaign coordination.
“Right now, we have an unelected billionaire – Elon Musk – who bought his way to power and is intent on gutting federal programs that Americans depend on all the while enriching his own companies at taxpayer expense. And he’s not alone. Donald Trump has the wealthiest Cabinet in our nation’s history, and the extraordinary influence of these oligarchs in our government today is the culmination of over a decade of virtually unlimited spending by special interests in our elections,” stated Rep. Tokuda. “The Stop Illegal Campaign Coordination Act fixes a clear gap in our election laws by eliminating the practice of redboxing, thereby increasing integrity in our elections and putting our voters and people above special interests.”
“The Stop Illegal Campaign Coordination Act is a much-needed step forward to address the risk of corruption fostered by unlawful coordination strategies like 'redboxing.’ By establishing clear rules and guidelines that better define what makes campaign spending 'coordinated' with outside groups like super PACs and dark money 501(c) groups, we can stop candidates from directing the activities of these allied groups, which are largely funded by wealthy special interests seeking more power and influence over elected officials. This important bill will ensure the integrity of our elections and put a stop to this brazen avenue for political corruption that marginalizes the electoral voices of everyday Americans,” said Saurav Ghosh, Director of Federal Campaign Finance Reform at Campaign Legal Center.
The Stop Illegal Campaign Coordination Act has been endorsed by the Campaign Legal Center and Public Citizen. Original cosponsors of the bill are Reps. Paul Tonko (NY-20), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Ed Case (HI-01).
Text of the bill can be found here.
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