The partisan divide is getting worse
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Few presidential candidates take the bundler disclosure pledge
Just four of the Democratic presidential candidates so far have either voluntarily disclosed or said they plan to disclose their top individual fundraisers, or "bundlers."
Sixteen political advocacy groups sent a letter two weeks ago to all the major-party candidates for 2020 asking them to disclose their bundlers — the affluent, well-connected people who gather donations from others and deliver those funds in a "bundle" to a campaign. (Campaigns are only required to disclose bundlers who are registered lobbyists and collect at least $18,700.)
The Center for Public Integrity contacted the candidates to ask whether (and how) they planned to disclose the identities of their top fundraisers. These four Democrats said they plan to disclose the information:
- Sen. Kamala Harris of California will publish the names and residential information of bundlers who raise more than $25,000 for her.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota will disclose her bundlers, and the campaign will detail the when and how in the weeks ahead.
- Rep. Eric Swalwell of California will disclose his bundlers once a quarter.
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., released a list of 23 campaign bundlers, but not how much they raised. His campaign said details of further disclosures would come later.
The candidates who did not respond to CPI included President Donald Trump and his only announced GOP challenger, former Gov. Bill Weld of Massachusetts, plus these 10 Democrats:
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
- Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington
- Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
- Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro
- Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland
- Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
- Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Fla.
- Businessman Andrew Yang (But his campaign told one of the cosigners that he would reveal his bundlers once he had some.)
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Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a trio of democracy reform bills this week.
California governor signs three political reform bills
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Tuesday three democracy reform bills focused on local redistricting, voting access and campaign contributions.
The first piece of legislation prohibits partisan gerrymandering at the local level by establishing criteria for cities and counties to use when adjusting district boundaries. While California is the largest state to use an independent redistricting commission to draw its congressional and state district maps, local districts did not have the same regulations.
Gov. Ralph Northam used his executive authority to restore voting rights for felons, noting that Virginia is among the states that permanently strips such rights after a felony conviction.
Virginia governor restores voting rights to over 22,000 felons
More than 22,000 Virginians with felony convictions have regained the right to vote thanks to executive actions taken by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam since he took office in January 2018, his office announced this week.
In a statement, Northam's office said he has so far restored the civil rights of 22,205 people who had been convicted of felonies and have since completed their sentences. Those civil rights include the right to vote as well as the right to serve on juries, run for public office and become a notary public.
Northam previously announced in February that nearly 11,000 convicted felons had their voting rights restored under his watch.