Democracy, Voter Rights, and Federal Power

ALEC's Efforts to limit democratic participation, facilitate big money in politics, and allow states to override the federal government. The bills on this page represent ALEC corporations' efforts to disenfranchise Americans, to thwart federal government mandates, and to change campaign finance laws and give corporations greater ability to spend money influencing politics. These "model bills" are drafted at American Legislative Exchange Council conventions with input from, and approval by, Big Business, then introduced in state legislatures to erode the democratic power of average Americans. Politicians are elected to represent the people, not corporations; through ALEC, corporations have both a VOICE and a VOTE on specific state laws. Do you?

READ the "Model Bills" HERE Click here for a zip file of all bills relating to democracy, voter rights, and federal power. To see a full list of bills from this section and send them to your computer individually, click here. For descriptions of some of these bills, scroll down or click here.

How YOU Can Expose ALEC & Share What You Learn SPREAD THE WORD. Share information about ALEC through Facebook, e-mail and Twitter. Concerned groups and people in every state need this to investigate how ALEC corporations are rewriting laws for their own advantage. And, please join the conversation on Facebook! EXPOSE ALEC LEGISLATORS. Demand the truth about which politicians in your state are in ALEC. Uncover whether YOUR tax dollars are paying ALEC "dues." Expose politicians who accept “scholarships” from ALEC's corporate-funded coffers for fancy trips. EXPOSE ALEC'S ROLE IN YOUR STATE HOUSE. Read these corporate-backed "model bills" NOW and cross-check them with bills in your state legislature. Ask your local media to report on what you have found and write your local newspaper. SHARE YOUR DISCOVERIES. Tell us what you uncovered! Tweet what you learn with the hashtag #ALECexposed, join a discussion on this site or email us a confidential tip via editor AT ALECexposed.org. And, follow our tweets on Twitter!

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Learn MORE about the "Model Bills" ALEC Corporations Are Backing to Rewrite YOUR Rights The Center for Media and Democracy analyzed the bills ALEC politicians and corporations voted for. More analysis is available below and also at ALEC Exposed's sister sites, PRWatch and SourceWatch.

How are ALEC corporations limiting democratic participation? These bills limit the democratic influence of average Americans in favor of corporations by: Disenfranchising low-income, elderly, people-of-color, and student voters by requiring all voters show a state ID at the polls (7G16) Opposing public financing of elections designed to reduce the influence of moneyed interests, justifying their position with the dubious assertion that “campaign contributions have no effect upon legislative behavior” (7G9) Anticipating unlimited secret spending in the 2010 midterm elections, releasing a Resolution supporting non-disclosure before anyone recognized how right-wing groups would secretly spend hundreds of millions in the 2010 elections (7G4) Opposing the use of statistical sampling to get an accurate count of urban people of color and immigrants in the U.S. Census, out of concern that it would increase power for Democrats (7G2) Opposing “false statement” laws passed by states designed to ensure that campaign ads don’t mislead voters with false statements (7G11) More Helpful Resources Additional resources on ALEC's corporate agenda: ALEC Funding, PRWatch (2011) American Legislative Exchange Council and other related articles, SourceWatch (2011) Ghostwriting the Law for Corporate America, American Association for Justice (2010) Climate Denial Report on ALEC and Exxon Funding for ALEC, Greenpeace (2011) Governing the Nation from the Statehouses, Progressive States Network (2006) Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Common Cause (2006) Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law, NPR (2010) Exposing ALEC, blogging group, Daily KOS (2011) ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures, People for the American Way (2011) Corporate America's Trojan Horse in the States, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council (2002) The Attack on Trial Lawyers and Tort Law, Commonwealth Institute (2003) Wisconsin's Cronon Affair: The Power of a Simple Fact, The Nation Magazine (2011) Ghostwriting the Law, Mother Jones (2002) ALEC Behind Voter Disenfranchisement Efforts, Center for American Progress (2011) ALEC Report, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (2011) ALEC Exposed: Business Domination Inc., The Nation Magazine (2011)

Did You Know about these Bills? Some of this Corporate Agenda Has Already Become Law Taking a page from the ALEC corporation playbook, in May, 2011 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, an ALEC alum, signed into law one of the most restrictive "Voter ID" restrictions in the country. Many in the state do not have driver's licenses -- around half of the state's African-American and Latino populations and 178,000 seniors -- and Department of Motor Vehicles offices are open erratically. Also under the bill, a current address is required on the license to vote, disenfranchising many students who move regularly. Wisconsin's Voter ID bill goes even further than the ALEC version. To learn more about this story, click here. (Have any of these bills been introduced or enacted in YOUR state? If so, please add that information to the ALEC Exposed page on your state by searching for your state's name in the search engine at the top of this page.)

ALEC Exposed is a project of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). CMD does NOT accept donations from for-profit corporations or government agencies. More information about CMD is available here. You can reach CMD's Executive Director, Arn Pearson, via editor AT ALECexposed.org. Privacy policy: Other than material you post to this wiki in your name, our privacy policy is that we will not disclose private personally identifiable information or data about you, such as your name, email address, or other information, unless required by law. On copyright: ALEC Exposed considers contributions to this wiki to be released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License or in accordance with law. Information on how to provide us with notice regarding copyright is available at this link. Notices regarding copyright or other matters should be sent to our designated agent, Arn Pearson, via email (editor AT ALECexposed.org).

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