Pennsylvania is the cradle of the American democratic republic, and it is our solemn duty to protect the integrity of our valued election system. Unfortunately, activists have increasingly infiltrated our Commonwealth, attempting to force distorted national narratives and agendas into our discourse and voting process by spending untold amounts of money—literally, as they have not registered their activities or filed required campaign finance disclosures.

Worse still, even if bad actors are convicted of violating our election laws, the penalties for these crimes are shockingly small—as low as $500—and present almost no deterrent to well-funded trolls who will factor in these fines as a “cost of doing business.” That is why we are sponsoring a proposal to increase penalties for civil and criminal convictions for failure to file as a political action committee, late filing of required campaign finance reports, and failure to file those reports at all. Our proposal would also prohibit any individual or group found guilty of breaking campaign finance laws from holding a position of public trust or from stewardship of public money.

We cannot stand idly by, waiting for criminals to receive a slap on the wrist for flouting laws and attempting to corrupt our elections. Please join us in cosponsoring this urgent effort to put teeth into our campaign finance laws, driving these perpetrators out of our state and protecting Pennsylvanians’ right to choose their government.