Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Advocacy groups call on presidential candidates to disclose bundlers

Sixteen advocacy groups, including some of the most influential players in the political reform movement, co-signed a letter Thursday urging 2020 presidential candidates to voluntarily disclose their top individual fundraisers, or "bundlers," during their campaign bids.

The letter asked the candidates to create a system to "regularly and meaningfully" disclose details about the campaign's bundlers — individuals who solicit and collect donations from others and then deliver those funds in a "bundle" to aid a candidate's campaign.


Bundlers who successfully pool large amounts of money from a network of well-heeled donors are often rewarded with desirable post-election appointments, such as ambassadorships.

Former presidents and presidential candidates from both parties, such as George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have voluntarily disclosed bundler details, Politico noted. During the 2016 election cycle, however, presidential candidates had "a mixed record of releasing bundler information."

"Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush released lists of their top fundraisers, though Clinton released less information about the people raising money for her campaign than Obama had. But others, including President Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, did not identify their bundlers," the article noted.

The letter asked the candidates to:

  • Disclose bundler information in reports that coincide with regular Federal Election Commission reporting requirements.
  • Provide the name, city, state and ZIP code of every bundler along with their employer and occupation — information that candidates must already provide for large donors.
  • Update regularly the aggregate amount each bundler has raised for their campaign.
  • Publish this information on their official website in a format that can be searched, sorted and downloaded.

The groups also requested that the eventual nominees include in subsequent reports how much bundlers raise for their party, as well as state and national party committees and joint fundraising committees that benefit the winning candidate.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

The 16 advocacy groups that co-signed the letter include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Public Citizen, Represent.Us and Issue One. (The Firewall is being incubated by Issue One but remains journalistically independent.)

Read More

Ballot box with North Carolina flag
Veronaa/Getty Images

Election Overtime Project heads to North Carolina

The Election Overtime Project, an effort to prepare journalists to cover the outcome of the 2024 election, is hosting its third swing-state briefing on Oct. 18, this time focused on North Carolina.

The series is a part of an effort to help reporters, TV anchors and others prepare America to understand and not fear close elections. Election Overtime is an initiative of the Election Reformers Network and developed in partnership with the Bridge Alliance, which publishes The Fulcrum.

Keep ReadingShow less
House chamber

Rep. Scott Perry objects to Pennsylvania's certification of its Electoral College vote during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 7, 2021.

Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

What voters need to know about the presidential election

It is quite clear that the presidential election is going to be incredibly close. In each of the seven swing states, the margin of error is less than 2 percent.

As citizens, this is not something to fear and it is critically important that we all trust the election results.

As part of our ongoing series for the Election Overtime Project, today we present a guide explaining in detail what you, as a voter, need to know about the role of state legislatures and Congress in a presidential election. The guide was prepared by the Election Reformers Network, a nonprofit organization championing impartial elections and concrete policy solutions that strengthen American democracy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Capitoll colored red and blue, split down the middle
Douglas Rissing/Getty Images

Prepare for heightened political trench warfare beyond Nov. 5

Merloe is a member of the Election Reformers Network Advisory Council and provides strategic advice on democracy and elections in the U.S. and internationally.

Political trench warfare is in full swing as the 2024 pre-election period draws to a close. And the signs are clear that battles will heat up all the way to Nov. 5 — and beyond — over voter qualification, voting, canvassing, certification of results and the allocation of Electoral College votes. With such a close election, both sides know that gaining inches can make a decisive difference, and they are skirmishing accordingly.

Keep ReadingShow less
cheering crowd
Nicholas Green/Unsplash

Voters, activists set to rally for open primaries ahead of historic elections

Griffiths is the national editor of Independent Voter News, where a version of this story first appeared.

The 2024 election cycle is already a historic year for election reform. Six states plus the District of Columbia have measures on the Nov. 5 ballot that open taxpayer-funded primary elections to voters outside the Republican and Democratic parties.

It is the first time in U.S. history that this many statewide primary reform initiatives have been offered up in the same election, something reform leaders are celebrating as they rally citizens to show their support for open primaries.

Keep ReadingShow less