August 10, 2023
Contact: Lyn Whitley

League of Women Voters of Washington Acts to Protect Voter Access to Campaign Expenditure Information

Seattle, WA—The League of Women Voters of Washington has joined an amicus brief urging the Washington State Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling that Meta violated state campaign transparency law. The law requires media platforms hosting political advertising—such as the Meta-owned Facebook—to make information about who purchased this advertising publicly available.

“The League of Women Voters supports full disclosure of campaign finance expenditures so that voters can cast an informed ballot,” said LWVWA President Mary Coltrane. “Microtargeting unsuspecting voters with campaign ads that fail to tell who is trying to influence harms democracy. Finding out who paid for these ads is challenging at best. Voters, and the journalists that serve them, should be able to readily access information about campaign ads,” she added.

Fix Democracy First, Campaign Legal Center, and the Brennan Center for Justice are additional amici curiae in this critically important brief. The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed the brief on August 10, 2023. Fix Democracy First is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization focused on fair elections and campaign finance reform. The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonprofit, nonpartisan law and public policy institute that seeks to strengthen, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice.

The League of Women Voters strongly supports transparency in elections and provides voters with important information about candidates and campaign issues. 

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The League of Women Voters of Washington is a nonpartisan political organization. We encourage the informed and active participation of citizens in government. The League acts in support of, or in opposition to, selected governmental issues that its members have studied. It does not support or oppose candidates or political parties.

Other Amici on This Case

Campaign Legal Center  is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and trusted partner of the LWVUS. Since its founding in 2002, CLC has participated in every major campaign finance case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and in numerous other federal and state court cases. Their work promotes every American’s right to an accountable and transparent democratic system.

Fix Democracy First , along with LWVWA and other coalition members, helped pass two important disclosure bills in the WA State legislature: the WA Disclose Act of 2018 requiring nonprofit organizations to disclose their top donors if contributing to Washington State Elections; and the PAC-to-PAC Disclosure of Campaign Donations which now requires the disclosure of contributions from political committees to other political committees.

The Brennan Center for Justice  is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and defend the United States’ systems of democracy and justice.