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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.