Category Archives: campaign finance

“Facebook and Google Helped Anti-Refugee Campaign in Swing States”

October 20, 2017, 10:00 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg: In the final weeks of the 2016 election campaign, voters in swing states including Nevada and North Carolina saw ads appear in their Facebook feeds and on Google websites touting a pair of controversial faux-tourism videos, showing France and… Continue reading

Text of (House Version of) Honest Ads Act Now Available

October 20, 2017, 8:40 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Find it here.

Abrams v. Werthheimer on Whether Citizens United Was a “Disaster”

October 20, 2017, 7:17 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Fred Wertheimer published an op-ed in the Huffington Post, “Citizens United Has Been a Disaster for the Country.” It rebuts claims made by Floyd Abrams in The Wall Street Journal in an op-ed entitled “The Citizens United … Continue reading

“Republican lawmakers’ posh hideaway bankrolled by secret corporate cash”

October 18, 2017, 7:41 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

CPI: But behind the scenes, several major corporations and trade groups secretly bankrolled a plush hideawayfor lawmakers at the same Republican National Convention in Cleveland where Trump gave the speech, records obtained by the Center for Public Integrity show.… Continue reading

“Do Seattle’s democracy vouchers work? New analysis says yes”

October 16, 2017, 11:33 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Seattle Times: The program went into effect this year, and it’s had a bit of a bumpy start. One City Council candidate has been accused of defrauding the program. A libertarian-leaning group has sued, saying the program violates the… Continue reading

“Want to deepen our democracy? Get ready.”

October 16, 2017, 11:31 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

E.J. Dionne: This is why the recent introduction of the “We the People” Democracy Reform Act of 2017 by Rep. David E. Price (D-N.C.) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) could prove to be an important milestone even if the… Continue reading

“Of Aliens, Money and Politics: Should Foreign Political Donations Be Banned?”

October 16, 2017, 11:28 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Joo-Cheong Tham has posted this interesting draft on SSRN (forthcoming Kings Law Journal). A snippet: Against premise 1), I argue that non-citizenship and the inability to vote are not sufficient grounds for exclusion from the political community. Against premise 2),… Continue reading

“Trump campaign legal bills topped $1 million last quarter”

October 15, 2017, 7:29 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: President Trump’s reelection committee spent more than $1 million on legal bills last quarter as investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election pressed on through the summer, according to a disclosure filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission.… Continue reading

“Donald Trump campaign ramps up 2020 re-election fundraising”

October 15, 2017, 7:16 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

CPI: New financial disclosures President Donald Trump’s re-election committee filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission tell a story of two Trump campaigns. On one end, Trump, both by choice and circumstance, remains tethered to his 2016 presidential election effort.… Continue reading

“Google, Facebook putting an early mark on political advertising bills”

October 13, 2017, 7:34 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Google and Facebook are looking to make an early imprint on legislation being drafted in the House and Senate that would force them and other online networks to disclose information about the buyers of political ads. Lobbyists from the… Continue reading

“Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg just hinted that Russian-bought ads could be fair game”

October 13, 2017, 6:56 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Business Insider: Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told Axios’ Mike Allen on Thursday that the company would not have removed the political ads purchased by accounts operating out of Russia if they had been posted by real people rather… Continue reading