Jason Grumet argues that there's a dark side to sunlight. But transparency is necessary for accountable government; in fact, it's hard-wired into the American democracy.
Continue readingMoney, politics and scandal in New Zealand’s election
Not normally on the world’s political radar, the recent parliamentary election in New Zealand put the small island nation on par with far more populous democratic countries — and not in a good way.
Continue readingSnap Shot Hungary: The connection between messy political funding and the rise of the illiberal state
Recent radicalization of Hungarian politics can partly be traced back to the country's messy political funding regime, and might be a warning sign that transparent political funding is a necessary condition for a healthy political ecosystem.
Continue readingSign the letter: Open U.S. state legislative data!
As a way to help spread the word about the significance of open legislative data, we've circulated a letter to ask U.S. state legislatures to make several important datasets available online and in open, structured form.
Continue readingTransparency advocates look at “The Price We Pay for Money’s Influence on Politics” during Sunlight-hosted event
With the midterms fewer than 50 days away, the Sunlight Foundation and ReThink Media hosted a panel discussion about the oversized role dark money plays in American elections.
Continue readingSunlight, Ellsberg and others oppose Senate version of the USA FREEDOM Act
The Senate version of the USA FREEDOM Act is a problematic answer to an enormous problem. That's why Sunlight is joining a diverse coalition in opposing the legislation.
Continue readingSecrecy and money have no place in lobbying – and a new bill aims to fix that
Today we focus on shining a brighter light on resources that are used to directly influence policy — the Lobbying and Campaign Finance Reform Act.
Continue readingWhere do we stand on open government plans?
As we found in July, a few agencies have still neglected to submit open government plans. But most agencies have, which gets us to the fun part — assessing their value.
Continue readingWhy wait? The Real Time Transparency Act would make campaign contributions public in 48 hours
The Real Time Transparency Act is one bill that would, with a mere tweak of the current disclosure system, dramatically improve disclosure of big contributions to campaigns.
Continue readingTransparency bills could offer easy wins, but will Congress bite?
Congress returns from summer vacation with expectations that they will accomplish almost nothing before Election Day. But if members want to point to some accomplishments before voters go to the polls, they should look at bills aimed at strengthening transparency.
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