Category Archives: campaign finance

“The super PAC frenzy redefining campaign operations”

June 25, 2023, 1:01 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Super PACs have been growing in strength for more than a decade, but this cycle are swimming in more money than ever. They have started earlier, with more than $14 million in independent expenditures in the primary already, according… Continue reading

“Pro-RFK Jr. Super PAC Has Deep Ties to Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos”

June 23, 2023, 11:39 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Rolling Stone: There’s nothing abnormal about a candidate getting a super PAC, even a candidate making a longshot bid like Kennedy’s. What is abnormal, however, is that Kennedy is running as a Democrat in the Democratic primary, while the creators… Continue reading

FEC Unanimously Voted (Back in July 2022, But Just Now Made Public) that Schwarzenegger and His USC Institute Did Not Violate Federal Campaign Finance Law in Giving Election Administration Grants During Covid

June 2, 2023, 2:36 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Sensible result (vote totals). Not clear why this took so long to make public. The claim was that these grants were meant to help Biden win, but there was no evidence of that. (Similar claims have been made… Continue reading

My New One at Slate on How Justice Souter Wanted to Warn in Campaign Finance Opinion About the Danger of “Plutocracy” until Justice O’Connor Shut Him Down

May 30, 2023, 7:46 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece at Slate. It begins: More than 20 years ago, then-Supreme Court Justice David Souter tried to warn that big money in politics risked turning United States officials into tools of an emerging “plutocracy.” We now… Continue reading

Hessick, Morse, and Pinnell on Electing Prosecutors

May 21, 2023, 10:04 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Carissa Byrne Hessick, Michael Morse, and Nathan Pinnell, Donating to the District Attorney (forthcoming, UC Davis Law Review): The United States is the only country that elects its local prosecutors. In theory, these local elections could facilitate local control of… Continue reading

DC Circuit affirms dismissal of challenge to FEC’s decision to accept paperwork for Trump’s presidential candidacy

May 20, 2023, 2:09 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionDerek Muller

Late last year, I highlighted a federal court’s decision to throw out a challenge to the FEC accepting paperwork for Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy on the ground that he was ineligible to serve. Last month, in an unpublished… Continue reading

“FEC complaint calls for federal probe of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema spending”

May 19, 2023, 9:01 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

Arizona’s Family has the complaint here: A complaint filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission asks regulators to open a formal investigation into campaign spending by Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema has faced mounting questions about the legitimacy of… Continue reading

ELB Podcast 4:8: Mary Ziegler: Dollars for Life: Money, Politics and Abortion

May 18, 2023, 4:09 pmcampaign finance, ELB PodcastRick Hasen

New ELB Podcast: To what extent have abortion politics been the driver of campaign finance fights in the courts? How much of a force has anti-abortion lawyer Jim Bopp been in the campaign finance cases? Are new efforts to make… Continue reading

Federal Court Rejects Argument by Pro-DeSantis Super PAC That It Can Give Its Contact List to DeSantis for Free without Violating Contribution Limits

May 18, 2023, 9:03 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

This decision seems a sound and straightforward result. But of course the FEC could not agree.

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upholds AG’s ruling striking campaign finance ballot question

May 17, 2023, 5:11 amcampaign finance, voter initiativesDerek Muller

From the Eagle-Tribune: The state’s highest court upheld a decision by the Attorney General’s office to reject a ballot question calling for limits on campaign spending by political action committees. In ruling issued Tuesday, the state Supreme Judicial Court… Continue reading

“Michigan Democrats’ early campaign finance bills bolster union influence”

May 16, 2023, 2:53 pmcampaign financeDerek Muller

Craig Mauger for the Detroit News: A committee within the Democrat-controlled Michigan House advanced bills Tuesday that would help labor unions, which frequently support Democratic lawmakers’ campaigns, raise money for political contributions. Democrats won control of both the state… Continue reading

“How to Raise $89 Million in Small Donations — And Make It Disappear”

May 15, 2023, 4:39 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

Follow the money at the New York Times: A group of conservative operatives using sophisticated robocalls raised millions of dollars from donors using pro-police and pro-veteran messages. But instead of using the money to promote issues and candidates, an… Continue reading

Campaign Finance Games Begin: DeSantis Allies’ Controversial Plan

May 12, 2023, 3:48 pmcampaign financeindependent expenditures, Super PacsTabatha Abu El-Haj

CNBC reports that “Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are reportedly planning to execute a controversial money transfer to free up tens of millions of dollars to support his expected 2024 presidential campaign.” This is a further elaboration on a … Continue reading