'Without a functioning election watchdog, the vulnerabilities in U.S. elections that were exposed in 2016 by Russia will be exploited to greater effect by foreign and domestic actors in the 2020 election and beyond.'
The Federal Election Commission, an independent agency that enforces all campaign finance law and ensures the integrity of political campaigns, lost its vice chairman Monday evening, essentially rendering the agency useless.
The FEC issued about $33.6 million in fines between 1999 and 2008, but over the last 10 years that dropped to $11.4 million. The seal of the Federal Election Commission is printed on window awnings outside its headquarters in Washington, DC."Without a functioning election watchdog, the vulnerabilities in U.S. elections that were exposed in 2016 by Russia will be exploited to greater effect by foreign and domestic actors in the 2020 election and beyond," Trevor Potter, former FEC chairman and president of the Campaign Legal Center, said in an emailed statement.
Typically, the president appoints, and the Senate confirms, each of the six members to serve for one term, with one person up for replacement every two years. But once the term is over, they're able to stay put on the commission if no one appoints a successor. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not approved a new member since he took up his post in 2015.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why Is Tim Ryan's 2020 Campaign Selling 'Namaste, America' Shirts?Ohio congressman and 2020 hopeful Tim Ryan introduced a new piece of campaign merchandise to his followers via Twitter over the weekend, but it wasn’t particularly well-received: shirts that read “Namaste, America” with the official Tim Ryan campaign logo slotted underneath it.
Read more »
Where the 2020 Democrats stand on climate changeThe roughly 20 Democratic hopefuls for the 2020 presidential race align on rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, protecting federal lands and supporting...
Read more »
DNC members voted against a resolution allowing a single-issue 2020 'climate debate'The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to reject single-issue presidential candidate debates over topics including climate change.
Read more »
Indians LHP Perez sees 2020 contract option vestIn one of the more expensive strikeouts of the season, Cleveland Indians left-ha...
Read more »