Category Archives: campaign finance

“Republican Donors, Do You Know Where Your Money Goes”

August 28, 2024, 10:12 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Juleanna Glover NYT oped: We long ago blew past any meaningful controls on political giving in American elections. Now we should focus on the rules governing political spending, which are in equally terrible shape. For that we can blame the… Continue reading

“Meet the megadonors pumping millions into the 2024 election”

August 26, 2024, 8:39 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

WaPo: The 50 biggest donors this cycle have collectively pumped $1.5 billion into political committees and other groups competing in the election, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission data. The vast majority of money from top… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Bob Bauer: “Law and Ethics in the Domain of Campaign Finance”

August 26, 2024, 7:17 amcampaign finance, ELB Book CornerRick Hasen

I’m pleased to welcome Bob Bauer to the ELB Book Corner, writing about his new book, The Unraveling. Here is the second of three guest posts: One chapter of the Unraveling is devoted to my long-standing view that the… Continue reading

“Democrats signal voting rights bills will top the agenda if Harris wins”

August 22, 2024, 7:17 amcampaign finance, election administrationRick Hasen

Patrick Marley deep for WaPo: Democratic leaders say passing sweeping legislation to expand voting rights and curb gerrymandering will be at or near the top of their governing agenda should Vice President Kamala Harris win the presidency this fall in… Continue reading

“Investors Favor Political Disclosures for Companies, Poll Finds”

August 21, 2024, 10:36 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Voters who are invested in the stock market want more transparency of corporate political spending, according to a new poll released as races heat up for the White House and down-ballot offices. In the survey, from the Zicklin… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Diana Dwyre and Robin Kolodny: “Things Stay the Same”

August 21, 2024, 7:00 amcampaign finance, ELB Book CornerRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome Diana Dwyre and Robin Kolodny to the ELB Book Corner, authors of the new book, The Fundamentals of Campaign Finance: Why We Have the System We Have (University of Michigan Press). The 30% discount code… Continue reading

“Harris and Trump Shield Their Big Campaign Fund-Raisers From the Public”

August 20, 2024, 4:37 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: Vice President Kamala Harris’s top campaign fund-raisers are being treated to four days of glitz and glam during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — hotel packages at the Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons, an on-field visit to Wrigley… Continue reading

My Forthcoming Yale Law Journal Feature: “The Stagnation, Retrogression, and Potential Pro-Voter Transformation of U.S. Election Law”

August 20, 2024, 7:18 amauthoritarian threats in US, ballot access, Bush v. Gore reflections, campaign finance, cheap speech, chicanery, Constitutional Right to Vote, election administration, election law and constitutional law, Election Meltdown, election subversion risk, First Amendment theory, legislation and legislatures, political equality, political parties, political polarization, primaries, Real Right to Vote, social media and social protests, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, voting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this draft, forthcoming this spring in Volume 134 of the Yale Law Journal. I consider it my most important law review article (or at least the most important that I’ve written in some time). It offers… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Diana Dwyre and Robin Kolodny: “The Triumph of Free Speech”

August 20, 2024, 7:00 amcampaign finance, ELB Book CornerRick Hasen

ELB Book Corner: Diana Dwyre and Robin Kolodny: “Capitalism, Campaign Finance, and Policymaking”

August 19, 2024, 7:52 amcampaign finance, ELB Book CornerRick Hasen

Shawn McCutcheon is Back

August 9, 2024, 1:30 pmcampaign financeMaine, RCVTabatha Abu El-Haj

Shawn McCutcheon: People running in races with ranked choice voting states should be allowed to accept several times the legal limit. On August 7, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request from Shaun McCutcheon. The requestor asks whether for… Continue reading

Campaign Finance Roundtable

August 6, 2024, 9:40 amcampaign financeTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Election Law Journal sponsors a panel on the practice of “redboxing,” a tactic used by candidates to coordinate with the political action committees that are supporting them. Moderator:Marc Meredith, PhDUniversity of PennsylvaniaParticipants:Saurav GhoshCampaign Legal CenterAbby WoodUniversity of Southern CaliforniaRichard… Continue reading

Selection of Governor Walz–Implicates Pay-to-Play Rules

August 6, 2024, 7:55 amcampaign finance2024 Election Cycle, Pay-to-PlayTabatha Abu El-Haj

Jason Abel and his colleagues at Steptoe flag that selecting a sitting Governor as a running mate implicates critical pay-to-pay rules. In this helpful brief, the authors lay out three sources of pay-to-play rules that now constrain the Harris campaign’s… Continue reading

Trump Campaign Complaint About Harris Using Biden-Harris Campaign Funds Is Unlikely to Get Anywhere at the FEC or In Court, and If It Does It Will Likely Take Years

July 23, 2024, 4:12 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

The New York Times reports that the Trump campaign has filed a complaint at the FEC against Kamala Harris for using the Biden-Harris campaign funds for her own campaign following Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race. Most campaign finance lawyers… Continue reading