To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate

The Koch Brothers find democracy inconvenient -- let's expose them

The Koch brothers are spending millions of dollars to keep voters from knowing who is trying to influence their votes. Congress must pass the DISCLOSE Act to protect everyone’s right to know who is spending money on our elections.

Why is this important?

Everyone deserves to know who is spending money on our elections -- it’s the only way for voters to know who is trying to influence our views and our elected representatives.

This November, South Dakota voters will have the chance to make that right to know a reality -- when they vote on Measure 22, a package of democracy reforms that includes full public disclosure of political donors.

But the Koch brothers and their big-donor network are bankrolling a big-money effort against Measure 22, buying ads and hiring staff to turn voters against these common-sense solutions that an overwhelming majority of Americans support.

The Kochs are notorious for spending big to promote their agenda -- but this goes one step further. In attacking Measure 22, the Kochs are opposing common sense reforms to create a democracy that represents all of us -- preserving the Big Money status quo that benefits them.

The fact that the Kochs are fighting so hard to keep their political spending a secret should tell you something. Transparency is a necessary first step if we want to have a government that represents all of us, and not just wealthy donors like the Kochs.

The Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act, currently before Congress, would set strict disclosure requirements on any individual or corporation that spends money to influence elections.

Disclosure gives voters the information they need to hold secret donors and elected officials accountable. That’s why the Koch brothers and their allies are fighting so hard against it -- and that’s why Congress must immediately pass the DISCLOSE Act.