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John C. Coates & Taylor Lincoln, A Campaign Finance Job for the SEC, Wash. Post, Sept. 7, 2011, at A19.


Abstract: The Supreme Court's January 2010 Citizens United decision to permit corporations to spend unlimited sums to influence federal elections was premised on a pair of yet-unfulfilled promises: Corporations would disclose their expenditures, and shareholders would be able to police such spending. The best chance to fulfill those promises may now rest with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC could require disclosure of political spending by public companies and facilitate action by shareholders to sign off on such spending.