Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Reintroduce Updated DISCLOSE Act to End Corrupting Influence of Dark Money in American Elections

185 Democrats support effort to empower voters and expose billionaire and special interest control over our government and courts

Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a bicameral group of Democrats in reintroducing the DISCLOSE Act, legislation to shine a bright light of transparency on the scourge of dark money in politics and make government more accountable to the will of voters.

"Billionaires should not be able to buy our elections-full stop," said Senator Merkley. "Passing the DISCLOSE Act will bring transparency to the dark money poured into our elections and give the power back to the people. We need to get this done to restore the vision of our 'We, The People' republic."

"Citizens United gave the green light for corporations and dark money to buy our elections," said Senator Wyden. "Elections should be decided by the American people, not shady dark money groups pushing their own narrow agendas. Our legislation will restore much-needed transparency to America's election systems and ensure the voice of every American is heard."

Since the 2010 Citizens United decision, secret spending in U.S. elections by corporations, ultra-rich ideological extremists, and secretive front groups has exploded. These dark-money expenditures that corrupt our politics increased from less than $5 million in 2006 to more than $300 million in the 2012 election cycle, and topped $1.9 billion in 2024, shattering the previous record of $1 billion in 2020.

Recent updates to the DISCLOSE Act include requiring the disclosure of payments made to digital influencers who promote a candidate.

The DISCLOSE Act would restore transparency in American elections and restore fairness and accountability in our political system by:

1. Requiring super PACs, 501(c)(4) "dark money" groups, corporations, and other organizations spending more than $10,000 in elections and on judicial nominations to promptly disclose donors who contribute more than $10,000;
2. Shutting down the use of transfers between organizations to cloak the identity of the original contributor;
3. Strengthening prohibitions against foreign actors participating in election spending in the United States, including in state and local referenda;
4. Prohibiting the establishment of corporations to conceal election contributions and donations by foreign actors;
5. Expanding "stand by your ad" disclosure requirements to online ads and ads that may promote or attack a candidate but stop short of expressly advocating for a vote for or against a candidate; and
6. Requiring identification of top funders of outside groups paying for video, text, or audio political ads.

The bill is sponsored by all 47 Senators who caucus with Democrats, and 138 Democrats in the House.

Several prominent good-government organizations cheered the bill's reintroduction today, including Campaign Legal Center, Democracy Defenders Action, Public Citizen, Democracy21, End Citizens United, Common Cause, Center for American Progress, and the Brennan Center.

A summary of the DISCLOSE Act of 2026 can be found here. The bill text can be found here.

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