Despite technological advancements that affect how people donate money to campaigns, the law banning foreign contributions to U.S. elections has not been updated for more than fifty years; This means that current disclosure requirements for online campaign contributions do not fully protect our election system from foreign interference 

The Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act would strengthen disclosure by requiring federal campaigns to use existing credit card verification protocols to help verify that online credit card donations come from U.S. sources

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) have introduced bipartisan legislation to protect the U.S. election system from foreign influence. Despite technological advancements that affect how people donate money to campaigns, the law banning foreign contributions to U.S. elections has not been updated for more than fifty years. This means that current disclosure requirements for online campaign contributions do not fully protect our election system from foreign interference. The Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act would strengthen disclosure by requiring federal campaigns to use existing credit card verification protocols to verify that credit card donations come from U.S. sources. This technology is similar to credit card verifications used by nearly all online merchants who verify the billing address of the consumer. The House companion to this legislation was introduced by Rep. Gosar (R-AZ) and is supported by a bipartisan group of 33 cosponsors.

“With the recent intelligence report which established foreign interference in our democracy, we need to take steps to restore trust in our electoral process and ensure that the voices of the American people are heard,” Senator Klobuchar said. “Commonsense reforms like the one Senator Blunt and I are fighting for with this legislation will help strengthen our campaign finance laws and protect American elections from foreign influence.”

“Keeping our nation’s electoral system free from foreign influence is critical to ensuring the integrity of our democratic process,” said Senator Blunt. “This bill takes important steps to prevent foreign donors from illegally contributing to U.S. campaigns. I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure.”

As Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee with oversight jurisdiction over federal elections, Klobuchar has introduced legislation to improve the security of U.S. election systems and make commonsense improvements to election administration.

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