In 2020, the Trump campaign used some shady, shady tactics to raise money online for Donald Trump’s reelection bid. Facing a cash crunch last fall, their team rolled out pre-checked boxes to enroll every donor in weekly withdrawals, even though many of those donors had no idea it was happening.

That’s not grassroots fundraising — that’s grift. And last week, the Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to recommend that Congress ban political campaigns from tricking donors into recurring contributions:

Did you catch the part about “UNANIMOUSLY?” As you probably know, the FEC regularly deadlocks on important issues. For a bipartisan panel to overwhelmingly agree this is a problem speaks volumes about just how far Donald Trump’s campaign went to take advantage of their grassroots donors.

In case you've forgotten, here's how we handle this at NewDems: We will never include a pre-checked recurring donation box without making it clear before you click that we're asking for a recurring contribution (and we'll make it easy to opt-out, too).

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Voters and grassroots supporters are too often treated like ATMs – machines that organizations keep coming back to again and again, doing and saying anything to get you to give them a dollar.

We think that’s wrong. You’re not an ATM. You’re an integral part of our movement, and an important part of how we can ensure our democracy represents the interests of everyday people — not just the well-heeled and well-connected.

If you support the FEC’s decision, sign our petition now to help us protect the rights of small dollar donors and outlaw shady fundraising tactics today.

Sign On

The FEC is on its own… for the moment. Let’s show them they have the people’s support.

Thank you,

Team NewDems