“We’re all too often inundated with political communications and advertisements without any clue where they’re coming from. This is especially the case on the internet, where misinformation can be spread so easily. This bill ensures that there is transparency in the electoral process by requiring a ‘paid for by’ disclosure on all political communications, including internet and digital ads. This will also make it harder for wealthy special interests or foreign nations to influence our elections under a cloak of secrecy. Voters deserve to have all of the facts so that they can make the best decision for themselves when it comes time to vote.

“This problem originated with the United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which eliminated constraints on how much corporations or other associations can spend on political advertising as long as they acted independently of a candidate. This decision led to a proliferation of unsavory groups and extremely wealthy individuals attempting to influence the political process. Under this legislation, voters and the investigative journalists will at least to be able to judge where the message is coming from so we can try to separate fake from real news and determine the bias in the message.”