Politician Accountability and Transparency in Campaign Holdings Act — The PATCH Act

Athletes are required to wear their sponsors. We accept this without thinking twice.

We don't extend the same expectation to the people who write our laws. Or enforce them. Or set our property taxes.

Campaign finance disclosure requirements exist. The filings are technically public. They're also buried in databases that require expertise to navigate, filed on timelines that lag months behind the money, and denominated in figures that mean nothing without context most people don't have. The transparency exists on paper. It doesn't exist in any room where it could actually matter.

This isn't a campaign finance reform petition. It doesn't propose restricting donations or challenging existing law.

It proposes a dress code.

Any elected official - federal, state, county, or municipal - who accepts contributions from PACs, corporations, organizations, trade associations, or private individuals above $1,000 per election cycle must display visible identification of those donors on their outer garment during all official public appearances. Floor sessions and committee hearings. City council meetings and county board sessions. Press conferences, town halls, and any media appearance made in official capacity.

Display Requirements:

• Minimum 3.5 inches by 2 inches per donor identification
• Front-facing, readable from ten feet
• Sized in proportion to total contribution - the biggest donor gets the biggest patch
• Must appear within 30 days of receiving a qualifying contribution
• Must be maintained for the duration of the term, updated within 30 days of any new qualifying contribution
• Must appear on the outer garment and may not be concealed during qualifying appearances
  
  

Qualifying Contributions:

• Direct PAC contributions of any amount
• Super PAC independent expenditures made on the officeholder's behalf
• Corporate, organizational, or trade association contributions
• Individual private contributions exceeding $1,000 per election cycle
• Bundled donations regardless of individual bundled amounts
• In-kind contributions with fair market value exceeding $1,000
• Dark money organization expenditures where the organization's donors include qualifying entities
• Spousal or immediate family member contributions where familial relationship is documented
  
  

Enforcement:

Enforcement is citizen-powered. Any registered voter can file a formal complaint against any elected official at any level of government - delivered simultaneously to the applicable ethics oversight body, the FEC (for federal officials), the officeholder's office, and their local press. Non-compliance carries civil fines from $5,000 per appearance to three times the value of the undisclosed contribution for repeat violations. The penalty is structured so concealment costs more than compliance.

We're directing this to every level of government - because elected officials at every level have continuously demonstrated their inability to regulate themselves, and this proposal shouldn't depend on the good faith of its subjects.

No ideology. No accusations.
Just visibility.

If the funding is legitimate, the display should be too.

Sign if you believe the public has a right to see - not just access - who funds the people who represent them. From Congress to the county courthouse.

Full proposal and citizen enforcement portal at PatchAct.com