Category Archives: campaign finance

Uvalde, an unlikely opportunity for responsiveness to public sentiment

May 30, 2022, 5:05 amcampaign finance, legislation and legislaturespolicy responsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

Public support for gun control, including regulating access to assault-style weapons, is currently extraordinarily high. But will Congress act? It would take ten Republican Senators to break. The odds are not good. And if they did, federal legislation… Continue reading

Following Supreme Court Decision in Thompson v. Hebdon, Alaska Has Gone from the State with One of the Lowest Campaign Contribution Limits to Unlimited Donations–and So Far the Legislature Won’t Fix It

May 22, 2022, 3:59 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Anchorage Daily News with the tick-tock and questions about whether the Governor, who may benefit from large donations, helped to scuttle a legislative deal.

FEC Deadlocks, Again

May 16, 2022, 4:14 pmcampaign finance, federal election commission2020 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

Dave Levinthal and C. Ryan Barber at Business Insider report that the Federal Election Commission has deadlocked over a “complaint that Donald Trump’s 2020 White House campaign laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in spending through corporate entities closely tied… Continue reading

Breaking and Analysis: Dividing on Ideological Lines and Breaking Little New Ground in FEC v. Cruz, Supreme Court Strikes Down Another Part of McCain-Feingold law

May 16, 2022, 7:49 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The result and lineup in today’s Supreme Court decision in FEC v. Cruz is no surprise: all the conservatives on the Court signed onto Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion holding that a loan repayment provision of the McCain-Feingold law is unconstitutional;… Continue reading

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