Every Voice

Every Voice is an American nonprofit, progressive liberal political advocacy organization.[5][6] The organization was formed in 2014 upon the merger of the Public Campaign Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) group, and the Friends of Democracy. Every Voice, along with its affiliated Super PAC, Every Voice Action, advocates for campaign finance reform in the United States via public financing of political campaigns and limitations on political donations.[7][8][9] The organization's president, David Donnelly, has said "We fully embrace the irony of working through a Super PAC to fight the influence of Super PACs."[1]

Every Voice
Formation1997
PurposeTo oppose "big money" in politics[1]
Location
MethodsPolitical advocacy[2]
President and CEO
David Donnelly
Zephyr Teachout
SubsidiariesEvery Voice Action (Super PAC)
Revenue
$1,547,909 (2013)[3]
Websitewww.everyvoice.org
Formerly called
Public Campaign Action Fund[4]

Every Voice has advocated legislative proposals pushed by United States Representatives Tom Petri (R-WI) and John Sarbanes (D-MD) which would match small-donor contributions with public funds.[10] The organization has also supported Todd Tiahrt (R), who has an "anti-money-in-politics" message, while targeting Mitch McConnell, who opposes campaign finance reform.[4] In 2014, Every Voice ran advertisements opposing Republican Representative Mike Pompeo. FactCheck.org rated one of the group's advertisements against Pompeo as "inaccurate and misleading".[6]

Public Campaign

Public Campaign was a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to reduce the role of special interest money in American politics. Public Campaign worked to bring publicly funded elections to local, state, and federal elections. Based in Washington, DC, Public Campaign was founded in 1997. As of 2015, seven states and two cities had some form of publicly funded elections.[11]

Public Campaign, an organization whose board of directors consisted of eight individuals,[12] published several reports about the role of money in the political process, including the Color of Money report, that detailed that a majority of campaign contributions to presidential candidates are from upper class white neighborhoods.

In December 2011, Public Campaign published a report detailing the tax avoidance and lobbying efforts conducted by 30 very large American corporations between 2008 and 2010. The report states that of the 30 companies, 29 paid no taxes and received tax rebates totaling $10.6 billion, while spending $475.6 million on lobbying (or $400,000 per day, including weekends) and $22 million on federal campaigns, while in some cases increasing executive compensation ($706 million altogether in 2010) and laying off tens of thousands of workers.[13]

Public Campaign was a 501(c)(3) organization which paid no taxes and received tax-deductible contributions. Unlike a 501(c)(4) — contributions to which are not tax deductible — as a 501(c)(3) "it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities."[14]

Nick Nyhart

Nick Nyhart is the president and CEO of Every Voice.[15][16] Prior to his role at Public Campaign, Nyhart directed a six-state campaign finance organizing project for Northeast Action for initiatives on publicly funded elections in Maine and Massachusetts. He previously worked as a community organizer on electoral coalition politics and other political issues in Connecticut.

See also

References
  1. Montgomery, David (September 19, 2014). "Ad campaign attacks Rounds over EB-5 program". Argus Leader. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  2. Gold, Matea (April 19, 2015). "Big money in politics emerges as a rising issue in 2016 campaign". Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  3. "IRS Form 990 2013" (PDF). GuideStar. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  4. Blumenthal, Paul (August 1, 2014). "Campaign Finance Reformers Regroup With New Goal: To 'Win The Debate On Solutions'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. Meet the Liberals Who Think Trump's Good For Democracy; Politico; July 28, 2015
  6. "A Sour Note From 'Every Voice'". FactCheck.org. Annenberg Public Policy Center. August 1, 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  7. Berman, Ari (May 19, 2015). "How the Money Primary Is Undermining Voting Rights". The Nation. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  8. Harding, Robert (October 15, 2014). "Every Voice, pro-campaign finance reform group, unveils two mailers targeting John Katko". The Citizen. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  9. Newlin Carney, Eliza (October 28, 2014). "Republicans Join Attacks on Big Money". Roll Call. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  10. Confessore, Nicholas (July 28, 2014). "Spending Big to Fight Big Donors in Campaigns". New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  11. About Us; Public Campaign website; April, 2015
  12. "Board of Directors and Funders". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  13. Portero, Ashley (9 December 2011). "30 Major U.S. Corporations Paid More to Lobby Congress Than Income Taxes, 2008-2010". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  14. "Exemption requirements: 501(c)(3) organizations". Archived from the original on 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  15. "How to 'drain the swamp'". SFGate. 17 December 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  16. "When Money Talks, Do Voters Lose? (5 Letters)". The New York Times. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
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