DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) has introduced legislation containing a suite of new provisions requiring greater transparency in campaign contribution filings, restricting the use of AI-generated content in political campaigns, speeding up investigations and rulings by the Office of Campaign Finance, and making a number of updates to DC’s highly successful Fair Elections Program that has put DC residents, rather than big-money interests, back in the driver’s seat every election season. The changes would apply to local elections only.

“Campaigns for political office will always push the boundaries of what they can get away with. Our laws must keep up and recognize where we can make elections fairer and stronger for voters,” said Councilmember Allen, who has previously authored laws around campaign finance reform and championed the Fair Elections Program through the Council in 2018. “We need to speed up investigations by the Office of Campaign Finance so voters have certainty before casting their vote, create more regular reporting requirements for donations, and make changes to Fair Elections that reflects data we’ve gotten now from multiple cycles to balance the public spending with competitive and accessible elections.”

The bill has been co-introduced by Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George, and Christina Henderson. This legislation would make the following changes:

Improving Transparency in our Elections

• Requires additional reporting from committees not currently required to submit more than two reports a year and prohibits the Office of Campaign Finance from accepting a report that omits certain legally required information;
• Amends the definition of “coordinate” or “coordination” to capture conduct from other political committees, political action committees, and independent expenditure committees that are not affiliated with a public official;
• Requires the Office of Campaign Finance to make available all documents, including orders, opinions, motions, and responses, pertaining to an investigation on the Office of Campaign Finance’s website, allowing the public to discern the status and posture of investigations initiated by the agency;
• Provides the Office of Campaign Finance a specified timeline to conduct an investigation on a complaint, promoting a quicker resolution to enforcement issues brought to the agency; and
• Combats the deceptive nature of deepfakes or other manipulated images or audio in elections by requiring a disclaimer on a deepfake, saying that the image, audio, or video has been manipulated or altered by artificial intelligence, and prohibiting the distribution of a deepfake within 90 days of an election.

Adopting a Customer Service-Oriented Approach

• Requires the Office of Campaign Finance to publish and disseminate guides on relevant information important for a campaign’s operations, like reporting deadlines, pay-to-play contractor restrictions, and responses to frequently asked questions about both the traditional program and the Fair Elections Program, to assist campaigns and volunteers in understanding the rules and regulations that they would encounter on a daily basis; and
• Establishes an advisory group consisting of current and former campaign treasurers, campaign finance experts, and donation platforms to meet at least four times a year to consult on potential process improvements for the campaign finance system and the Fair Elections Program.

Fair Elections Program

• Raises the certification threshold for candidates for Chairman, at-large, and Ward members of the Council and at-large members of the State Board of Education to ensure that public dollars are being spent appropriately, while at the same time incentivizing competitive races;
• Revokes certification for someone who loses a primary running under the Fair Elections Program and then switches to run for another covered office in the general election, to ensure good stewardship of public dollars and promote fairness;
• Requires the Director of Campaign Finance and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to disperse Fair Elections Program funds within 3 business days during the last 60 days prior to the date of an election, to provide campaigns with adequate funds and a stable cash flow during the most intensive period of campaigning; and
• Prohibits a candidate who was expelled from the Council from being certified under the Fair Elections Program.

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