Montana's senior senator has introduced three bills that he says would increase transparency and accountability in elections.
Democrat Jon Tester says all three would "shine a light on dark money that tries to influence our elections and restore the right of citizens of this country – not to corporations."
One of Tester’s bills would require all U.S. Senate candidates to file their campaign finance reports electronically with the Federal Election Commission, not the Secretary of State.
Another would require the IRS to make public any donors who give more than $5,000 to nonprofits that engage in electioneering.
Tester's third proposal is a constitutional amendment declaring that corporations are not people. He says all three would help lead to more transparency in government:
"And I think more transparency in government – and elections are a part of government – makes government work better. That would be the case with our elections; they’d be fairer if we had more transparency," says Tester.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, the e-file concept has the support of at least 60 sitting senators. It also has one powerful opponent – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
