On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Doe v. Reed, a lawsuit filed by a political action committee in Washington State. The case could decide whether public disclosure of referendum petition signatures is permitted or if signing such a petition is a private political act protected by the First Amendment.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2010—The long-awaited decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was issued today. With a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 20-year-old precedent, which had stated that corporations can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to pay for their own campaign-related advertisements. Justices also struck down parts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold bill, which prohibited unions and corporations from running issue ads before primary and general elections. OMB Watch is disappointed in today's decision and fears it will lead to moneyed interests drowning out the voices of citizens and smaller advocacy organizations.

A coalition of voting rights groups has filed lawsuits against two states, Indiana and New Mexico, for failing to adequately implement a section of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), commonly known as the Motor Voter law. The groups charge that the states' public assistance agencies and motor vehicle offices have not met their responsibilities to offer residents the opportunity to register to vote.

During the 2008 presidential election season, there were numerous allegations of attempts to disenfranchise legitimate voters. Some of the techniques involved voter caging, voter purging, and deceptive practices. To prevent the use of these techniques in the future, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced legislation that would ban deceptive practices and eliminate voter caging. He also introduced a bill that would restore voting rights to numerous individuals who have been convicted of felonies and would make Election Day a holiday.