John,

Our country is set to pass an ominous milestone: $1 billion in total dark money has been spent since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.

This is extremely concerning because these dark money groups are able to play in the political process while keeping their donors anonymous, and Americans are left unsure of who is attempting to influence their vote.

Issue One has long called for more transparency in our political system through ground-breaking reports and educational calls for reporters, and we’ve advocated for bipartisan solutions on Capitol Hill to tackle the issue of dark money.

Help Issue One end secret spending in our elections!

Just last week, we held a press conference with the Center for Responsive Politics on the dangers of dark money in our elections and why this $1 billion milestone is so problematic. It featured Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Issue One ReFormers Caucus Co-chair Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN), Issue One Research Director Michael Beckel, and Center for Responsive Politics Nonprofit and FARA Researcher Anna Massoglia.

Issue One’s “Swamp Stories” podcast also released an episode that covered how the Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to record amounts of secret cash flowing into our elections, how it works, and why we have to stop it.

As our Founder and CEO Nick Penniman said: “When wealthy donors covertly spend millions of dollars to curry favor and push their pet issues, our democratic processes are distorted. Secret money in our elections corrodes the public’s trust in our political system.”

It’s time to put an end to this disgraceful practice. Can you donate today to support Issue One’s efforts to shine a light on dark money?

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith McGehee
Executive Director, Issue One