Tag: Seattle

VIDEO: The Ongoing Campaign to End Foreign-Influenced Corporate Spending in U.S. Elections.
Posted on
Challenging Foreign Influence

The campaign to end foreign-influenced corporate spending in our elections continues to grow across the country! Our new video highlights the ongoing fight to advance our model legislation to prohibit foreign-influenced corporate spending in federal, state and local elections. The video features Congressman Jamie Raskin and leaders in New York State, Seattle, and California who
Read More

What Seattle Can Teach the Country About Fixing Our Democracy.
Posted on
Defending Key Reforms

Seattle’s twin campaign finance reforms—democracy vouchers, and a ban on political spending by foreign-influenced corporations—have proven their merit. By Ron Fein, Cindy Black Far from the dysfunctional tumult in Congress, Seattle has found two keys toward fixing problems that plague our democracy. The country should pay attention. America’s system for funding election campaigns is broken. Most
Read More

VIDEO: Free Speech For People And Our Fight To End Foreign-Influenced Corporate Spending in Our Elections
Posted on
Challenging Foreign Influence

Free Speech For People has been at the forefront in the fight to end foreign-influenced corporate campaign spending, researching, drafting, and advocating for legislation on all levels of government. We helped to successfully pass laws in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017, and in Seattle, Washington in 2020. Seven states (Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New
Read More

FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub Makes the Case In Support of Seattle’s New Landmark Campaign Finance Law
Posted on
Challenging Foreign Influence

FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub argues in a New York Times opinion piece why Seattle’s new law banning foreign-influenced corporations from spending money in Seattle elections is constitutional and correct.  Commissioner Weintraub writes:   “Seattle, along with other cities and states, doesn’t need to worry. No court has ever come close to holding that the Federal Election
Read More

New CAP Report on Ending Foreign-Influenced Corporate Spending in U.S. Elections Highlights Problem, Validates FSFP’s Work
Posted on
Challenging Foreign Influence

A new report from the Center for American Progress, written by senior fellow Michael Sozan, highlights the problem of political spending by foreign-influenced corporations. The report—which cites Free Speech For People’s pioneering legislative work in places like Seattle, St. Petersburg, and Massachusetts—proposes banning political spending by partially-foreign-owned corporations, using the same thresholds for foreign ownership
Read More

Amazon vs. Democracy: Foreign Influence In The Seattle City Council Elections
Posted on
Challenging Foreign Influence

As of last week, Amazon has poured over $1.5 million into Seattle’s upcoming city council election through the local Chamber of Commerce’s super PAC, The Civil Alliance for a Sound Economy. That total represents more than the combined total raised by candidates without Amazon’s backing. As Rachel Lauter, executive director of the Working Washington advocacy group, said
Read More

New study shows how small-donor matching funds can help reduce influence of big money
Posted on

Today, the Campaign Finance Institute released a new study analyzing the potential impact if New York state reforms its campaign finance legislation to include tighter contribution limits, a ban on limited-liability companies (LLCs) from making contributions, and a small donor matching fund program modeled on the one in New York City. The Institute concludes that
Read More

New amicus brief argues that Seattle’s democracy voucher program promotes political equality and democratic self-government
Posted on

On Thursday, Free Speech For People and Demos filed an amicus brief in the Washington state court of appeals in the case of Elster v. City of Seattle. Our brief helps defend the city against a constitutional challenge to Seattle’s “democracy voucher” program, a nationally-recognized public campaign financing system enacted by voter initiative in 2015 and first
Read More

New Report on Impact of Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program on Candidates’ Ability to Rely on Constituents for Fundraising
Posted on

Today, Free Speech For People released a new issue report on The Impact of Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program on Candidates’ Ability to Rely on Constituents for Fundraising. In 2015, Seattle voters enacted a novel democracy voucher program for public campaign financing. The objective of this analysis was to examine whether the democracy voucher program, first used in the
Read More