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Dear Chair Allen, The undersigned organizations write to support Senate Bill 1349, which would direct the Secretary of State to modernize Cal-Access, California’s online system for campaign finance filing and disclosure. This necessary upgrade would make the system more reliable, better inform voters, and simplify compliance by campaigns. Modernizing Cal-Access would increase the transparency of campaign financing without requiring new disclosure rules, simply by providing easier public access to the information that campaigns already report.

Dear Senator Hertzberg, On behalf of California Common Cause and our members, I am writing with a letter of support for Senate Bill 1349, which would direct the Secretary of State to modernize Cal-Access, the online system for campaign finance filing and disclosure. Thank you for your leadership on this bill.

The Supreme Court has held that campaign contribution limits are a legitimate means of “deal[ing] with the reality or appearance of corruption inherent in a system permitting unlimited financial contributions.” Campaign contribution limits help to ensure that candidates are not overly reliant on a few wealthy donors to finance their campaigns. With a cap on individual contributions, candidates must also build a broader base of smaller contributions to be viable. As of 2014, the federal government and 38 states had enacted campaign contribution limits. Thirty-four states have also enacted local campaign contribution limits.

Voter participation in the United States is plummeting. In California, there is a widening gap between the number eligible voters and the number of voters who successfully cast a ballot. During the 2014 midterm elections, California set a record low for voter turnout in a regularly scheduled general election; only 42.2 percent of registered voters. In an effort to address waning civic participation, some states have adopted modern technology and procedures that make the voting process more streamlined and accessible to a wider audience of voters.

Dear Assemblymember Hernández, On behalf of California Common Cause and our members, I am writing with a letter of support for AB 277, which codifies the holding in Jauregui v. City of Palmdale (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 781 that the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) applies to charter cities and counties.

Dear Senator Block, On behalf of California Common Cause and our members, I am writing with a letter of support for SB 589, which strengthens voting rights protections for individuals with disabilities and conservatees.