Dear Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader McCarthy,
The undersigned nonprofit organizations and policy leaders write in strong support of the free speech and citizen privacy provisions in the “American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act” (H.R. 8528), introduced by Congressman Rodney Davis. This thoughtful legislation protects and strengthens important First Amendment rights that Americans have enjoyed since the founding of our country.
This is a critical counterbalance to the growing push for unconstitutional and harmful disclosures in Congress and at the state level that attack the rights to freely speak, publish, and support groups that advocate for causes supported by Americans across the country and ideological spectrum.
The free speech provisions in the ACE Act would defend the vital role nonprofit organizations serve in encouraging free speech and the free exchange of ideas. Privately supporting causes – and the organizations advancing those causes – is a fundamental freedom protected by the First Amendment. Our Founding Fathers used pen names to encourage independence from Great Britain. Nearly 200 years later, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the state of Alabama from demanding the supporter list of the NAACP, citing concerns about retribution against the group’s members and financial backers. And just last year, the Supreme Court ruled in Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) v. Bonta that nonprofit causes cannot be forced to hand over their supporter lists to the government. The privacy rights at stake in that case were robustly supported by over 280 nonprofit groups representing a wide range of causes and political preferences.
The ACE Act would enshrine four vital privacy protections into law through the following provisions:
• Speech Privacy Act of 2022. Codifies the Supreme Court decisions in NAACP v. Alabama and AFPF v. Bonta by prohibiting federal agencies from collecting or disclosing the names of nonprofit supporters. Agencies that are required by law to collect this information are exempted, and penalties for government officials that illegally reveal this sensitive information are included. (Sec. 307)
• Don’t Weaponize the IRS Act. Enshrines into law 2020 reforms issued by rulemaking that prevent the Internal Revenue Service from collecting and warehousing nonprofit donor information that the agency has acknowledged it does not use or need. (Sec. 308)
• IRS Protections. Prevents the IRS from writing new regulations to limit political speech by nonprofits. (Sec. 309)
• SEC Protections. Prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission from requiring businesses to disclose their giving to nonprofits and membership in trade associations. (Sec.341)
We urge all Members of Congress to support the strong free speech and citizen privacy provisions in Congressman Rodney Davis’ “American Confidence in Elections Act.” These reforms will protect millions of Americans across the country, who cherish and rely on the right to privately support causes they believe in without fear of harassment and intimidation, as well as the diverse causes they support, including the undersigned individuals and organizations.
Sincerely,
Heather Lauer, Executive Director
People United for Privacy
Lisa B. Nelson, CEO
ALEC Action
Brent Wm. Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer
Americans for Prosperity
James L. Martin, Founder/Chairman
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, President
60 Plus Association
Bethany Marcum, CEO
Alaska Policy Forum
John Droz, Jr., Founder
Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions
Bob Carlstrom, President
AMAC Action
Phil Kerpen, President
American Commitment
Thomas Pyle, President
American Energy Alliance
Carrie Ann Donnell, Founder & President
American Juris Link
Gary L. Bauer, President
American Values
Grover Norquist, President
Americans for Tax Reform
Elizabeth McGuigan, Senior Director of Policy & Government Affairs
The Philanthropy Roundtable
Tracie Sharp, President and CEO
State Policy Network
Scott Walter, President*
Capital Research Center
Garrett Ballengee, Executive Director
Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy
Ryan Johnson, Assoc. Commissioner, District 2
Cass County Commission
Ryan Ellis, President
Center for a Free Economy
Andrew F. Quinlan, President
Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Craig Rucker, President
CFACT
David N. Bossie, President
Citizens United
Ashley Baker, Director of Public Policy
The Committee for Justice
Charles Mitchell, President and CEO
Commonwealth Foundation
Ron Pearson, Executive Director
Conservative Victory Fund
Tom Schatz, President
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Tim Hoefer, President & CEO
Empire Center for New York State Policy
Grant Callen, Founder & CEO
Empower Mississippi Foundation
Craig Richardson, President
Energy & Environment Legal Institute
Timothy R. Head, Executive Director
Faith & Freedom Coalition
Victoria Cobb, President
The Family Foundation of Virginia
Brian Minnich, Executive Vice President
Freedom Foundation
Annette Meeks, CEO
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Adam Brandon, President
FreedomWorks
Randy Hicks, President and CEO
Georgia Center for Opportunity
Jon Riches, Vice President for Litigation
Goldwater Institute
Tim Macy, Chairman
Gun Owners of America
James Taylor, President
The Heartland Institute
Jessica Anderson, Executive Director
Heritage Action
Fred Birnbaum, Director of Legislative Affairs
Idaho Freedom Foundation and Idaho Freedom Action
Matt Paprocki, President
Illinois Policy Institute
Heather R. Higgins, CEO
Independent Women’s Voice
Chris Hagenow, President
Iowans for Tax Relief
J. Robert McClure III, Ph. D., President and CEO
The James Madison Institute
Brian Balfour, Senior VP of Research
John Locke Foundation
Brett Healy, President
The John MacIver Institute for Public Policy
Morton Blackwell, President
The Leadership Institute
Seton Motley, President
Less Government
Connor Boyack, President
Libertas Institute
Charles Moran, President
Log Cabin Republicans
Joseph Lehman, President
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Matthew Gagnon, Chief Executive Officer
Maine Policy Institute
Douglas Carswell, President & CEO
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Cristen Wohlgemuth, President & CEO
Mountain States Legal Foundation
Karen Bowling, Executive Director
Nebraska Family Alliance
Robert Fellner, Vice President
Nevada Policy Research Institute
The Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell
Former Treasurer, State of Ohio
Jonathan Small, President
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Tarren Bragdon, CEO
Opportunity Solutions Project
Sally Pipes, President & CEO*
Pacific Research Institute
Daniel Erspamer, CEO
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Eli Lehrer, President*
R Street Institute
Mike Stenhouse, CEO
Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Paul Gessing, President
Rio Grande Foundation
Maureen Blum, Founder and Principal
Strategic Coalitions & Initiatives LCC
Kristan Hawkins, President
Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action
David Williams, President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Action
Christian N. Braunlich, President & CEO
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
Vic Bernson, Vice President & General Counsel
Young America’s Foundation
*Affiliation used for identification purposes only.