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Accountabilty:
Preserving the Public’s Right to Know

In 1822, James Madison wrote: “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

Today, that notion still holds true, and democratic government continues to depend upon the informed and active participation of its citizens at all levels of government.

For democracy to flourish, government must operate in the sunshine:

  • The public must have access to records documenting the functions of government and to meetings where government business is transacted.
  • Citizens need to have information about the pressures exerted on the policy-making process and guaranteed access to influence that process.
  • Reports containing disclosure by certain high-level government officials of gifts they have received and investments they have made must be available to the public.
  • The public must be able to access reports of expenditures made by lobbyists and money contributed to campaigns for public office.

But since 9/11, the federal government has been removing, restricting and destroying information in the name of homeland security. A fundamental shift is occurring, and the public’s right to know is on the way to being replaced by a “need to know” standard in which the government decides who gets what information.

As a result, citizens are less informed and less able to participate in government. The public is being stripped of its ability to oversee and hold the government accountable, and public trust is slipping.

To learn how the League of Women Voters has been supporting open government that enables citizen participation, click here.

The power of information.

Laura Rench of Jefferson Township in Montgomery County, Ohio said that information gained from public records was a major factor in stopping the Army from transporting a stockpile of diluted VX nerve agent to a hazardous waste station (owned by Perma-Fix of Dayton) located about a mile from her home.

Records of investments made by the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation have been exempt from public view. In light of the Coingate revelations, the Ohio legislature is considering making those records public. Had the records been public, a newspaper, an employer concerned about rising premiums or a member of the public may have discovered that the fund was investing in rare coins and brought it to the public’s attention.

The Columbus Dispatch obtained a copy of the Financial Disclosure that Secretary of State Blackwell filed with the Ohio Ethics Commission. On April 8, 2006, The Dispatch reported: “Blackwell also owned shares of voting machine manufacturer Diebold last year at the same time his office negotiated a multimillion-dollar contract with the company. He has said the Diebold investment was made in January 2005 without his knowledge and that he first discovered it last weekend. The stock has been sold at a loss, he said.”

See a copy of the Financial Disclosure form.

Latest News in Accountability

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Aaron Marshall, THE PLAIN DEALER, 3/9/10. With Joe Guillen / Plain Dealer Reporter COLUMBUS — A controversy over the firing of three employees at a little-known legislative advisory agency has prompted a prominent state lawmaker to question whether the agency does enough work to justify its $650,000 annual budget.

Rep. Dan Dodd, who chairs the House Insurance Committee, said he’s concerned that the staff of the Workers’ Compensation Council, which is supposed to review legislation, only completed one legislative analysis during the five months the council was fully staffed.

Dodd said a closer look at the council — which is funded by assessments on Ohio employers that pay workers’ compensation premiums — leaves him wondering “whether employers are getting their money’s worth and what it is exactly that they are paying for.” Read More

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Mark Niquette, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 3/9/10. COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court issued an order yesterday putting on hold, pending a final determination, the last of the remaining subpoenas from Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in a dispute about the funding behind a proposed referendum.

Last week, the court delayed enforcement of subpoenas issued to people affiliated with LetOhioVote.org, the group seeking the referendum on whether to add electronic slot machines at horse tracks, as well as to Tim Crawford, president of New Models, the Virginia-based nonprofit that was LetOhioVote.org’s sole source of funding last year. Read More

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Daniel Schuman, SUNLIGHT FOUNDATION, 3/8/10.  WASHINGTON DC — Should a court case on whether Washington state must disclose the identities of people calling for a referendum affect the kinds of disclosure required under campaign finance law? We say no. The explanation of our answer is the focus of an amicus brief filed before the U.S. Supreme Court by the Sunlight Foundation, the Brennan Center, and the Center for Responsive Politics in Doe v. Reed.

We believe that, regardless of whether the names of people who signed a petition calling for a referendum must be disclosed, the question of money in politics is different from other election regulation issues, and must be treated differently. “Where money is spent to influence the outcome of elections, vigilance is required to ensure that influence-peddling does not corrupt our democracy and that voters are empowered to make informed decisions about how such spending may have influenced their candidates and laws.”

As a matter of procedure, the Court should never reach the question of how transparency and campaign finance laws intersect. But if it does, the Court should conclude “the curtain of privacy that is appropriate to the voting booth should not be drawn to hide the workings of money in politics from public scrutiny and from political accountability.”

Read the brief below.

Doe v Reed Amicus Brief before Supreme Court joined by Sunlight Foundation

Read More