Reps. Levin and LaLota Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Prohibit Deceptive Campaign Fundraising Tactics
Washington, D.C. – Today, Reps. Mike Levin (CA-49) and Nick LaLota (NY-01) reintroduced the bipartisan Uncheck the Box Act, to prevent political campaigns from using prechecked boxes to solicit recurring contributions.
Political campaigns on both sides of the aisle have used “pre-checked boxes” to solicit recurring contributions, forcing Americans to contribute thousands of dollars to campaigns without providing affirmative consent. The Uncheck the Box Act would prohibit anyone from soliciting a recurring contribution for a political committee, independent expenditure, or electioneering communication unless they require the contributor to provide affirmative consent. The legislation would also require clear guidance on how to cancel recurring contributions and cancel all subsequent contributions upon request.
"Politicians can’t claim to be fighting for their constituents while simultaneously swindling them out of their money, but that’s exactly what’s happening in many cases,” said Rep. Levin. “Unfortunately, too many Americans, especially seniors, have been deceived into contributing thousands of dollars to political campaigns through dirty tricks. Removing prechecked boxes is a bipartisan issue, and I’m hopeful members of both parties will work with me and Rep. LaLota to pass this bill as soon as possible to save Americans money.”
“As the former Suffolk County Election Commissioner, I have always worked hard to ensure integrity, transparency, and accountability in our elections and political system. Pre-checking the box for recurring contributions is deceptive, unethical, and has no place in our politics,” said Rep. LaLota. “Americans should be allowed to freely give to candidates of their choosing at their discretion and they should not be tricked into giving more than they can or want to give. We need to restore trust in our political system and ending automatic recurring contributions is a huge step in the right direction.”
On May 6, 2021, the bipartisan Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted unanimously to recommend that Congress ban political campaigns from using prechecked boxes for recurring contributions. The FEC regularly receives complaints from Americans who do not recall agreeing to recurring contributions and are not able to cancel. Without statutory authority from Congress, the FEC does not have the ability to help those who were swindled by political campaigns.
"Political campaigns are ripping people off by tricking them into making recurring contributions and there's an easy solution,” said Nick Penniman, Founder and CEO of Issue One. “Rep. Levin and Rep. LaLota have done great bipartisan work to reintroduce the Uncheck the Box Act. Requiring affirmative consent for recurring contributions – instead of having it be the deceptive default – is a simple consumer safeguard that can add greater protections for those who want to support the political process."
Senator Amy Klobuchar is working on a senate companion to this bill.
Text of the Uncheck the Box Act is available here.