Category Archives: campaign finance

Supreme Court Takes No Action Again on Major Campaign Finance Petition

November 18, 2019, 7:05 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Supreme Court takes no action yet again on major campaign finance petition. Court could eventually grant, or, perhaps at this point more likely now would be either some kind of summary action or a dissent from denial of cert. from… Continue reading

Campaign Legal Center Unsuccessfully Fights Effort to Allow Clinton Campaign and Allied Super PAC to Defend Itself in Federal Court (Comment from Marc Elias)

November 15, 2019, 4:02 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Court order. Comment from Marc Elias via email: “The idea that a so called good government group would use the fact that the FEC is shorthanded to try to score a victory in court and not let the case… Continue reading

“Grassroots Money Beats Amazon in Seattle; ‘Democracy dollars’ and an influx of small donations powered progressive city council members to victory over corporate money.”

November 15, 2019, 1:32 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Nick Nyhart and Adam Eichen at TAP.

“Bloomberg Will Spend $100 Million on Anti-Trump Online Ad Blitz”

November 15, 2019, 7:58 amcampaign finance, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

NYT reports.

Parnas and Fruman Got Access to Trump to Call for Dumping Ambassador By Promising Big Contribution to Trump Super PAC

November 12, 2019, 9:09 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: The April 2018 dinner was designed to be an intimate affair, an opportunity for a handful of big donors to a super PAC allied with President Trump to personally interact with the president and his eldest son.In an exclusive… Continue reading

“AP Exclusive: Steyer aide offered money for endorsements”

November 7, 2019, 12:42 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

AP: A top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer in Iowa privately offered campaign contributions to local politicians in exchange for endorsing his White House bid, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the conversations.The overtures from Pat… Continue reading

“Our Campaign Finance Nationalism”

November 7, 2019, 8:35 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Gene Mazo has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Pepperdine Law Review). Here is the abstract: This Article chronicles the history, structure, and contours of our “campaign finance nationalism.” I use this term to describe a system in which the… Continue reading

Supreme Court May Decide to Hear Major Campaign Finance Case This Week

November 6, 2019, 8:14 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

As early as Friday, the Supreme Court could announce it will hear a case that could put the nail into coffin of limits on campaign contributions to candidates. Here’s my preview in The Atlantic from last summer about this Paul… Continue reading

“Empower the FEC to Fight Election Crime; A depleted commission faces threats from Russia and beyond.”

November 6, 2019, 7:21 amcampaign finance, chicanery, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Bloomberg editorial.

“Amid troubles, Trump has huge cash advantage for 2020; But Democrats have already raised $700 million from small-dollar donors giving $200 or less”

November 5, 2019, 6:53 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Kate Ackley for Roll Call.

“First Amendment (Un)Exceptionalism: A Comparative Taxonomy of Campaign Finance Reform Proposals in the US and UK”

November 4, 2019, 1:44 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Lori Ringhand has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Ohio State L.J.). Here is the abstract: There is an urgent conversation happening among the world’s democracies about how to respond to the combined threat of online electioneering and foreign interference… Continue reading

“Democratic Strategists Set Up $75 Million Digital Campaign to Counter Trump”

November 4, 2019, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: A progressive organization is plunging itself into the presidential campaign, unveiling plans to spend $75 million on digital advertising to counter President Trump’s early spending advantage in key 2020 battleground states.The effort, by a nonprofit group called Acronym and… Continue reading

“Halloween’s Over. The FEC? Still a Zombie”

November 1, 2019, 9:47 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

CPI: These are dark times at the Federal Election Commission, which has now gone two months without enough commissioners to enforce federal campaign finance laws. That’s because U.S. senators and President Donald Trump have failed to strike an agreement to… Continue reading

New York: “Minor parties fear state commission trying to secure more power for major parties”

October 30, 2019, 7:36 amballot access, campaign finance, third partiesRick Hasen

Newsday: The panel is charged with developing a voluntary system of using state funds to help pay for political campaigns, but Cuomo and other legislative leaders also tasked the commission with looking at the merits of fusion voting. The… Continue reading