Tell Congress: Make Political Ads Name Their Top Donors

Americans are going to the polls today after months of political ads telling them whom to trust, whom to fear, and how to vote. But many voters have been denied a basic fact: who is paying to influence them.

New reporting from Popular Information finds that $1.4 billion in funding for this year’s midterms has come from nonprofits that conceal their donors. That includes contributions to super PACs and direct election spending—and the analysis warns its tally is incomplete.

A political group’s name can hide the financial interests behind its message. Voters weighing promises on healthcare, taxes, and rising prices deserve to know who financed the pitch—and what those donors stand to gain. It's time for Congress to ensure that information goes directly into the ads.

Tell Congress: Require political ads to name the biggest donors behind them. Stop letting powerful interests hide behind political front groups.

Experimental studies have found that naming an outside group’s donors can weaken the influence of its attack ads. Knowing who financed a message helps voters evaluate its credibility and consider whose interests it serves. People shouldn’t have to cast their ballots without that context.

Congress can require outside political ads to prominently identify their biggest financial backers. Those requirements must identify the people or companies originally supplying the money, even when it passes through several organizations. Naming another front group would leave voters in the dark.

Today’s voters deserved those facts before casting their ballots. Congress must make donor disclosure an immediate priority and pass enforceable requirements before the next election.

Add your name: Demand that Congress make political ads name their biggest donors. Voters deserve to know whose money is behind the message.

The petition to Congress reads:

“Require outside political ads to prominently identify their biggest original donors, and close loopholes that let contributors hide behind intermediary organizations.”