Category Archives: campaign finance

Coordinating Publicly to Get Around Campaign Finance Laws–2022 cycle

May 16, 2022, 5:44 amcampaign finance2022 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

Shane Goldmacher at N.Y. Times reports on the “Little Red Boxes” appearing on many Democratic primary candidates’ websites to direct their Super PACs’ messaging strategies. The basic principle is not new, but the details are interesting. Republicans this… Continue reading

“Primaries spotlight coming battles over state supreme courts”

May 16, 2022, 5:13 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsTabatha Abu El-Haj

AP News “[A]cross the country this year, . . . state judicial races become increasingly politicized over issues such as partisan gerrymandering, abortion and gun rights. Voters in 32 states this year will cast ballots on state supreme court seats,… Continue reading

Eighth Circuit panel finds no threat of enforcement of certain provisions of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act

May 10, 2022, 9:23 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

From the summary of the decision in Minnesota RFL Caucus v. Freeman: The relevant section of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act – Minn. Stat. Sec. 211B.02 – prohibits a candidate from falsely stating that a candidate or ballot… Continue reading

“Super PAC and its President Plead Guilty to Dark Money Scheme to File False Reports with the FEC”

May 5, 2022, 3:20 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

DOJ Release: A Super PAC and its president pleaded guilty today to scheming to lie to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about the true identities of donors.According to court documents, Joseph Fuentes-Fernandez, 62, of Arlington, Virginia, and the Super… Continue reading

Breaking: Supreme Court, with No Noted Dissents, Turns Down Major Petition on Whether Corporations Have a Constitutional Right to Make Contributions Directly to Candidates

May 2, 2022, 6:35 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Once again, the Supreme Court has turned down the chance to consider the constitutionality of laws limiting direct campaign contributions to candidates. The Court upheld such limits in Beaumont v. FEC but it has been under sustained attack since Citizens… Continue reading

Bruce Freed: “CPA’s New ‘Practical Stake’ Report Takes a Hard Look at Corporations, Political Spending and Democracy”

May 1, 2022, 7:39 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Bruce Freed of the Center for Political Accountability: Today’s crisis of democracy poses fundamental questions for company engagement in the political process. Is a commitment to democratic institutions a priority for companies, or… Continue reading

Supreme Court Turns Down Rhode Island Donor Disclosure Case and Alabama Case About Libertarian Party Access to Voter Lists

April 25, 2022, 7:02 amballot access, campaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Order list.

“Path Cleared for CLC Lawsuit Over FEC Inaction on Illegal Coordination by Clinton Campaign”

April 20, 2022, 12:28 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Release: In a win for transparency, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has cleared a path for a lawsuit brought by Campaign Legal Center (CLC) to challenge the failure of the Federal Election… Continue reading

“Democratic Dollars Flow Once Again to Likely Lost Causes”

April 20, 2022, 7:15 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Gary Chambers Jr. burst onto the national scene in 2020 with a viral video of him castigating the racism of the East Baton Rouge school district. Now, he has captured the hearts and wallets of young liberals with a… Continue reading

“Campaign finance watchdog cracks down on untraceable super PAC donations”

April 19, 2022, 11:46 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Politico: The Federal Election Commission signaled Friday that it will take steps to uncover some types of virtually untraceable donations to super PACs, a potentially significant shift in the enforcement of campaign finance law.The move came as the FEC… Continue reading

“Revealed: The $14M mystery behind a new crypto super PAC”

April 19, 2022, 11:41 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico: The billionaire founder of a global crypto exchange made an anonymous $14 million contribution to a super PAC. Only it wasn’t anonymous. And it wasn’t $14 million.Protect Our Future — a super PAC that’s spent millions supporting … Continue reading

“Judge denies Abrams bid to seek unlimited contributions”

April 14, 2022, 4:11 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

AP: Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams cannot immediately begin raising and spending unlimited campaign contributions under a state law passed last year because she is not yet her party’s nominee, a federal judge ruled Thursday.Abrams and her One… Continue reading

Republican, Democratic fundraising for election litigation tops $82 million in 2021

April 13, 2022, 7:29 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

I’ve chronicled how the 2015 “Cromnibus” bill appears to have contributed to a sharp increase in spending on election litigation. The bill allowed additional contributions to “election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings,” above and beyond individual candidate campaign… Continue reading

“2024 hopefuls are already in a dark-money arms race”

April 11, 2022, 7:04 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: When Mike Pompeo announced his political action committee last June, he set off a wave of news stories heralding the move as a potential step toward a 2024 presidential campaign. But the former secretary of State kept his next… Continue reading