Category Archives: campaign finance

Sen. McCaskill Cites Judge Kavanaugh’s Campaign Finance Views as Her Reason for Voting No on His Supreme Court Nomination

September 20, 2018, 7:19 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Gannett: Sen. Claire McCaskill said Wednesday she will vote against federal appellate judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Citing “dark money” in politics as the main reason for her opposition, McCaskill released a… Continue reading

“The Hottest Tool in Campaign Finance Law Enforcement Today Is More Than 100 Years Old”

September 20, 2018, 6:57 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy on the Tillman Act.

Breaking: Supreme Court Rejects Stay in Crossroads Campaign Disclosure Case

September 18, 2018, 11:30 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

With no noted dissents, the Supreme Court has turned down Crossroad GPS’s request for emergency relief from an order that will require disclosure of more of its donors who are contributing money to influence federal elections. As I wrote… Continue reading

“Campaign Donor Disclosure Fate May Hinge on Kavanaugh Vote”

September 18, 2018, 7:56 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Ken Doyle for Bloomberg: The continued secrecy of donors to campaign spending groups may depend on whether and how quickly the Senate can confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Chief Justice John Roberts reinstated in a brief order issued over… Continue reading

“Independent Spending in State Elections, 2006-2016”

September 18, 2018, 7:00 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

CFI Release: In the years before the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (CU), independent expenditures (IEs) in state elections were dominated by formal state and local party organizations and labor unions. In the years… Continue reading

“Congress passes bill to require Senate campaign filings to be made electronically”

September 17, 2018, 8:00 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Well this is a long time coming: Congress passed a bill Thursday that would require senators to file campaign finance reports electronically through the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The language was included in a broader appropriations bill sent to the… Continue reading

Chief Justice Roberts Issues Temporary Stay of Order Requiring Crossroads GPS and Similar Groups to Disclose Certain Donor Information to FEC

September 15, 2018, 3:01 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The stay looks to be an administrative one, pending further action of the Court. Witht 4 Justices strongly in favor of disclosure on the Court, I would guess that this results in an eventual denial of the stay, either by… Continue reading

“How Brett Kavanaugh could help create an era of rampant corruption”

September 13, 2018, 10:55 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Paul Waldman for the Plum Line.

Unanimous 7th Circuit Panel, in Opinion by Judge Skyes, Rejects Challenges to Illinois Campaign Finance Limits

September 13, 2018, 10:54 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Nice to see.

“Exclusive: Audio Reveals Potentially Illegal Coordination Between NRA and Montana Senate Hopeful Matt Rosendale”

September 13, 2018, 10:20 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Daily Beast: Before the National Rifle Association dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to flip a competitive, Democratic-held Senate seat, the gun-rights group’s chief lobbyist apparently gave the race’s Republican challenger a heads-up. Chris Cox, the top political… Continue reading

New Jersey: “Top 25 Special Interest Groups Spent More than $74 Million in 2017”

September 12, 2018, 2:31 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Release: The top 25 special interest groups in 2017 spent more than $74 million trying to influence elections and government policy in New Jersey, according to a new analysis by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC). The analysis… Continue reading

“Dark Money Illuminated Issue One shines a light on the top 15 secretive groups spending millions of dollars to sway voters and malign candidates”

September 12, 2018, 6:40 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Release: Just 15 dark money groups in the post-Citizens United era accounted for over 75 percent of the more than $800 million in political dark money spent between January 2010 and December 2016, according to Issue One’s new year-long investigation, … Continue reading

“Kavanaugh Decision Created Opening for Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections”

September 11, 2018, 9:19 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Brendan Fischer blogs.

“Citizens United As Bad Corporate Law”

September 11, 2018, 9:07 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Jonathan Macey and Leo Strine have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this Article we show that Citizens United v. FEC, arguably the most important First Amendment case of the new millennium, is predicated on a… Continue reading