Institute For Free Speech

Disclosure: A Threat to Associational Privacy
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS staff  •    •  

Disclosure, in the campaign finance context, refers to laws and regulations requiring candidates and political groups to report information about their activities to the government, which then makes that information available publicly. The required information varies greatly, depending on the affected organization and the local, state, or federal government mandating the disclosure. Disclosure rules fall into two broad categories: disclosure…

Businesses and Shareholders Shouldn’t Be Misled by the CPA-Zicklin Index
October 8, 2015   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

Today, the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), in conjunction with the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research, released the 2015 installment of their annual ...

The Victims of “Dark Money” Disclosure: How Government Reporting Requirements Suppress Speech and Limit Charitable Giving
August 5, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Anonymous political speech has been essential to democratic discourse since the founding of our republic. Ratification of the U.S. Constitution was primarily debated ...

Wisconsin’s "John Doe" Decision: More than "Reformers" Can Handle
July 30, 2015   •  By Brad Smith   •  , ,

Two weeks ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sent a shock wave through campaign finance watchers with its decision in Two Unnamed Petitioners v. Peterson. ...

The Donald and Donor Disclosure
July 20, 2015   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  , ,

Since the announcement of his Presidential campaign, there has been a near constant stream of mockery targeting Donald Trump. And rightly so. The aspiring ...

Five Misconceptions about “Dark Money”
July 8, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

“Dark money” is a pejorative term for spending on ads urging the election or defeat of candidates by nonprofit groups – typically 501(c)(4) social welfare ...

Three Primary Threats to 501(c)(3) Donor Privacy
June 16, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Across the country, those who wish to silence dissent are seeking to force nonprofit groups to reveal the private information – names, home addresses, occupations, ...

Significant Constitutional and Practical Issues with Washington House Bill 2256
May 19, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  , , ,

On behalf of the Center for Competitive Politics, I am writing you today to respectfully submit the following comments regarding the constitutional and practical ...

Significant Constitutional and Practical Issues with Maine Legislative Document 1192 (S.P. 419)
May 6, 2015   •  By Eric Wang   •  , , , ,

L.D. 1192 imposes disclosure requirements that single out by name political contributors whose aggregate contributions exceed a certain threshold, but the disclosure appears to ...

Constitutional and Practical Issues with Maine Legislative Document 189
May 6, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

On behalf of the Center for Competitive Politics, I am writing you today to respectfully submit the following comments regarding the constitutional and practical ...

The stuff foul-mouthed Larry Lessig says

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April 22, 2015   •  By David Keating   •  , ,

In a post entitled “The sh*t Brad Smith says” (shot? shut? – you may as well spell it out, Larry), Larry Lessig quotes Brad ...

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