Category Archives: campaign finance

“Colorado has been expanding some of its privacy protections, but how do they work, and who qualifies?”

June 23, 2025, 12:35 pmcampaign finance, voter registrationpolitical violenceJustin Levitt

Colorado Public Radio has a story on privacy protections (and concerns) with respect to the voter rolls, the state’s campaign finance database, and beyond.

“As N.Y.C. Mayoral Primary Nears, Money Talks as Mamdani Walks”

June 21, 2025, 8:15 amcampaign financeTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times Zohran Mamdani tried to get the Campaign Finance Board to raise his spending cap, given the amount of independent spending buoying Cuomo’s bid. The Board, however, has told him it is not possible within the rules. Meanwhile, Mamdani… Continue reading

Montana Plan is not Without Its Skeptics

June 20, 2025, 11:52 amcampaign finance, direct democracyMontana, state constitutionsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Earlier this week, I blogged about a new initiative in Montana that seeks to rein in corporate political spending by amending the state’s constitution to limit the powers conferred on corporations. In a new article for the local Independent Record… Continue reading

“Bloomberg pours more cash into Cuomo super PAC, bringing his total contribution to $8.3M”

June 20, 2025, 5:34 amcampaign financeNYC Mayoral Primary 2025, Super PacsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico “With the latest gift, Bloomberg is now single-handedly responsible for one-third of the PAC’s total haul of $24 million since it launched in March, according to a POLITICO analysis. Other real estate and finance executives who make up New… Continue reading

New Montana Initiative Seeks to Use Corporate Law to Restrain Corporate Political Spending

June 18, 2025, 6:14 amcampaign finance, direct democracystate constitutionsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Veteran election leaders today unveiled “The Montana Plan,” a ballot initiative that seeks to eliminate corporate and dark money from Montana politics without running afoul of Citizens United. The initiative would amend Montana’s constitution to prohibit the state from granting… Continue reading

“Bernie Sanders, seven other senators urge Democrats to break with billionaire donors”

June 17, 2025, 9:21 amcampaign financeCitizens United, money in politics, Super PacsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post Leveraging public concerns about Elon Musk’s role in the 2024 election and in shaping Trump administration policies, Sanders and seven other Democratic Senators are calling on the Democratic Party to break with their own billionaire donors and eschew… Continue reading

“Billionaire Michael Bloomberg opens his wallet for Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral bid”

June 13, 2025, 12:59 pmcampaign finance, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

Politico: Billionaire Michael Bloomberg was no fan of Andrew Cuomo when the two served overlapping tenures as mayor and governor. But on Friday all appeared forgiven, with Bloomberg’s $5 million donation to a super PAC boosting Cuomo’s mayoral bid. It’s… Continue reading

“Ex-New York Assembly Candidate Charged With Campaign Finance Fraud”

June 13, 2025, 10:24 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: A former New York State Assembly candidate used fake donations and forged signatures to fraudulently inflate the share of public matching funds he received in last year’s election, federal prosecutors said on Friday. The former candidate, Dao Yin, was… Continue reading

“Trump lawyers ask appeals court to move his hush money case to federal court”

June 12, 2025, 7:54 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: One year after his criminal conviction in the Manhattan hush money case, Donald Trump is still fighting to shed his felon status. The president’s personal lawyers appeared before a federal appeals court Wednesday, urging a three-judge panel to transfer… Continue reading

Kim, “Restoring Public Trust in Elections: An Empirical Study of How Campaign Finance Reform Can Restore Public Trust in Elections”

June 8, 2025, 9:03 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

New publication from Matthew D. Kim in the Texas A&M Law Review: The American public has become deeply distrustful of elections. This distrust is partly due to Supreme Court decisions curtailing campaign finance restrictions, on First Amendment grounds, to… Continue reading

“Trump says Elon Musk will face ‘very serious consequences’ if he funds Democratic candidates”

June 7, 2025, 11:31 amauthoritarian threats in US, campaign financeRick Hasen

NBC News: President Donald Trump on Saturday said there would be “serious consequences” if tech mogul Elon Musk funds Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who vote in favor of the GOP’s sweeping budget bill. “If he does, he’ll have… Continue reading

“A Super PAC Is Encroaching on the DCCC’s Territory”

June 6, 2025, 8:20 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

NOTUS: A super PAC with close ties to House Democratic leadership is taking a more active role with House candidates ahead of next year’s elections, expanding its political operation into the realm traditionally occupied by the Democratic Congressional Campaign… Continue reading

Elon Musk, GOP, and the challenges of Super PACs

June 4, 2025, 8:29 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

And a reason why political parties are trying to get more control of campaigns. From Politico: The top two congressional Republicans rebutted Elon Musk’s criticism of their “big, beautiful bill” Wednesday as the tech mogul and former Trump… Continue reading

“Judge tosses Democratic Party challenge to Trump order’s impact on FEC”

June 4, 2025, 3:59 amcampaign finance, campaigns, federal election commissionDerek Muller

Politico: A federal judge has dismissed a Democratic Party lawsuit claiming an executive order issued by President Donald Trump was intruding on the independence of the Federal Election Commission. In a ruling Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali… Continue reading