Category Archives: campaign finance

“Money, Speech, and Chutzpah”

August 28, 2017, 12:10 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Joel Gora has posted this abstract draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Litigation). Here is the abstract: This article examines the background to the key campaign finance cases of the last 45 years, from before Buckley v. Valeo to after Citizens United.… Continue reading

“Election Law Professor: Public Financing Encourages Diverse Candidates”

August 24, 2017, 5:19 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

WFSU reports.

“Elements of the Support Structure for Campaign Finance Litigation in the Roberts Court”

August 23, 2017, 7:30 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

My UCI Law colleague Ann Southworth studies lawyers, sociology and social networks, and she’s written a fascinating article on the campaign finance bar for the journal Law & Social Inquiry. Here is the abstract: This article considers the organizations, financial… Continue reading

“Citizens United Fights to Keep Donor Names Secret”

August 23, 2017, 7:01 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYLJ: The conservative nonprofit that successfully fought in the U.S. Supreme Court for unlimited donations to federal campaigns wants to keep its list of donors secret. But in oral arguments on Monday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of… Continue reading

“Watchdogs File FCC Complaints Regarding Lack of Disclosure in Most Expensive House Race in History”

August 22, 2017, 8:31 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Release: Today, Issue One and Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed six complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against two Atlanta-based television stations in the aftermath of the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, which was the most… Continue reading

“Trump’s Small-Dollar Donors Help Salve His Big Business Bruises”

August 21, 2017, 6:56 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Small-dollar donors — those who give a total of less than $200 per year — have provided 59 percent of the $26 million that Trump’s re-election campaign has raised so far in 2017. A good share of that total… Continue reading

“Trump’s Son In Crosshairs Of Special Counsel Mueller”

August 21, 2017, 6:53 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

BuzzFeed reports.

“Seattle candidate accused of defrauding first-in-nation democracy-voucher program”

August 18, 2017, 10:44 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Seattle Times: Seattle police are investigating a City Council campaign after an allegation that it tried to defraud Seattle’s first-in-the-nation, taxpayer-funded “democracy voucher” program. The police inquiry comes after a former campaign manager for Sheley Secrestwent to city… Continue reading

“California Panel Changes Donor Rule as Democrat Faces Recall”

August 18, 2017, 7:19 amcampaign finance, recall electionsRick Hasen

AP: California‘s political watchdog moved forward Thursday with a controversial change to a campaign finance rule that will help a Democratic state senator facing a recall. The Fair Political Practices Commission voted 3-1 Thursday to adopt the change, which… Continue reading

“Networking the Party: First Amendment Rights & the Pursuit of Responsive Party Government”

August 16, 2017, 9:02 amcampaign finance, political parties, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Tabatha Abu El-Haj has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article argues that the Supreme Court’s party jurisprudence is predicated on a set of theoretical assumptions that do not hold true in the real world of… Continue reading

“About those ‘democracy vouchers.’ They didn’t work for everyone”

August 16, 2017, 7:26 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

KUOW: This year, Seattle embarked on a bold political experiment in public funding for elections: the Democracy Voucher program. But Hisam Goueli, a candidate for Seattle City Council Position 8, says the new voucher system is broken and lead… Continue reading

Undergraduate Syllabus: Campaign Finance Law, Politics, and Policy

August 15, 2017, 1:46 pmcampaign finance, pedagogyRick Hasen

Looking forward to teaching my undergraduate campaign finance class again in the UC Irvine political science department in the upcoming fall quarter. Here is the updated syllabus.

“Investor Reaction to Covert Corporate Political Activity”

August 9, 2017, 7:38 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Timothy Werner has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming Strategic Management Journal). Here is the abstract: Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission and subsequent developments created a covert channel for firms to allocate resources from corporate treasuries to political activity.… Continue reading

“Why Limits on Contributions to Super Pacs Should Survive Citizens United”

August 8, 2017, 9:29 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Al Alschuler, Larry Tribe, Norm Eisen, and Richard Painter have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Soon after the Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. FEC, the D.C. Circuit held all limits on contributions to super PACs… Continue reading