Category Archives: campaign finance

“Legal team seeking to undo super PACs files suit to push FEC to act”

November 4, 2016, 7:33 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

WaPo: A bipartisan group of congressional members and candidates is filing a federal suit Friday against the Federal Election Commission, seeking to force the agency to act on a complaint it brought against 10 super PACs in July. The maneuver… Continue reading

Possible Record $18 Million Penalty for Campaign Finance Violations in Washington State

November 3, 2016, 8:24 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

See the opinion in State of Washington v. Grocery Manufacturers Association. A snippet:

Three-Judge District Court in DC Rejects Challenge to McCain-Feingold Disclosure Requirements, Noting Danger of Foreign Influence

November 3, 2016, 8:15 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

You can find the unanimous opinion for Judges Millett, Kollar-Kotelly, and Mehta at this link. A snippet:

“Shooting Your Brand in the Foot: What Citizens United Invites”

November 3, 2016, 8:04 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy has posted this draft on SSRN (Rutgers Law Review). Here is the abstract: Part of what makes corporate political spending so fraught is the how valuable brand identity is to the average firm, the heterogeneous political views of… Continue reading

“Time for an ACLU Shift on Campaign Finance?”

November 3, 2016, 12:34 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Eliza Newlin Carney for TAP: Now that Georgetown constitutional law professor David Cole has been named the American Civil Liberties Union’s next national legal director, his April article in The Atlantic on “How to Reverse Citizens United” delivers a second… Continue reading

“Democracy 21 Study — Outside Groups Greatly Outspend Candidates in Seven Battleground Senate Races”

November 3, 2016, 8:04 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

See here.

“Presidential Election: Trump Hits $100 Million in Small Donations in October, Team Says”

November 2, 2016, 9:10 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT reports.

“Supreme Court Lets Stand Traditional PAC Limits”

November 2, 2016, 8:51 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The Supreme Court declined to review a challenge to Federal Election Commission contribution limits for traditional political action committees (PACs), leaving intact special limits for newly formed PACs (Stop Reckless Economic Instability Caused By Democrats (Stop REID) PAC… Continue reading

NC GOP Says LGBT Forum Sponsored by Charlotte Observer Newspaper Is Unreported Independent Expenditure Supporting Democratic Candidate for Governor

November 2, 2016, 3:15 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Letter via Dominic Holden.

“Despite Citizens United, Corporate Super PAC Contributions Trail Individuals, Study Finds”

November 2, 2016, 7:51 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WSJ: Despite legal rulings allowing companies, trade groups and unions to spend unlimited sums supporting political candidates, they still trail far behind wealthy individuals in political spending, a new study finds. A study by the Conference Board’s Committee for Economic… Continue reading

“Despite Investigations, Obama’s IRS Has Never Stopped Targeting Conservatives”

November 2, 2016, 7:12 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Paul Jossey for The Federalist.

“Behind Closed Doors, Measures to Reform City’s Campaign Laws Raise Concerns”

November 1, 2016, 9:24 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Three years after the 2013 elections revealed serious flaws in New York City’s campaign finance laws, the City Council may finally be moving to fix some of the worst problems — but not without including a few changes that… Continue reading

Fred Woocher Talks to Bob Stern’s Class on Citizens United, Prop 59, and More

November 1, 2016, 7:04 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Listen and learn. Bob’s description: This is a podcast for about 20 minutes of my sixth class at UCLA Extension with Fred Woocher, one of the leading campaign finance lawyers in California, who discusses the Citizens United case; independent… Continue reading

“Disney Breaks Its Own Spending Record in This Year’s Anaheim Council Election”

November 1, 2016, 4:14 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Voice of OC: With a week to go until the election, The Walt Disney Company’s spending on Anaheim City Council races has blown past the record it set in 2014 and is approaching the $1-million mark, according to the most… Continue reading