Category Archives: campaigns

“FEC Deadlocks On Whether Candidates Can Coordinate With Their Own Super PACs”

November 10, 2015, 4:49 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Paul Blumenthal for HuffPo: A request to relax limits on coordination between candidates and super PACs left the Federal Election Commission divided and, at times, confused at a hearing on Tuesday. Marc Elias, lawyer for House Majority PAC and Senate… Continue reading

“Poll Watch: Overseas Elections Offer Warnings for U.S. Pollsters”

November 10, 2015, 7:57 amcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Pre-election polls in numerous countries this year have widely missed their marks, often by underestimating support for candidates on the ideological fringes. The polling failures in countries like Britain, Poland and Israel point to technical issues that could… Continue reading

“Capital One Defends Garrett Donation Amid Anti-Gay Controversy”

November 10, 2015, 7:48 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Capital One Financial Corp. is defending a donation to a Republican congressman facing a backlash over alleged anti-gay remarks, saying it bases political giving on business interests rather than social issues. In a letter explaining its financial support… Continue reading

“Analysis: A Peculiar Way to Disenfranchise Voters”

November 9, 2015, 8:37 amcampaigns, redistrictingRick Hasen

Fascinating Ross Ramsey column: There are many sneaky ways to disenfranchise voters — to rig the electoral system so that one group’s voices are not quite as loud as others’ —but the 23rd Congressional District of Texas might be… Continue reading

“Inside the abandoned plans of Ted Cruz’s super PACs”

November 9, 2015, 7:32 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Teddy Schleifer for CNN: The super PACs are staffed in part by a few individuals with no formal political experience, including Neugebauer, who has been the groups’ main fundraiser and formerly its chief executive officer — in addition to one… Continue reading

Breaking: #SCOTUS ❤️ Political Disclosure, Denies Cert. in CCP v. Harris

November 9, 2015, 7:19 amcampaign finance, campaigns, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The Supreme Court, without noted dissent, has denied cert. in Center for Competitive Politics v. Harris. The question concerns whether CA AG Harris can have access to CCP’s donor list for law enforcement purposes (and not for public disclosure)… Continue reading

“As Lawrence Lessig’s Long-Shot Bid Ends, What’s To Come For His Key Issue?”

November 8, 2015, 4:26 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Michel Martin interviews Lessig for NPR.

“‘SNL’ Gives Donald Trump Just 12 Minutes On Screen”

November 8, 2015, 12:59 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Variety: His minimal appearance on the show would suggest NBC was extremely cognizant of TV’s so-called “equal time” rule, which mandates that U.S. broadcast and radio stations that grant appearances to political candidates must provide an equal amount of… Continue reading

What To Do About Truthiness in Campaigns? Not Much

November 8, 2015, 12:54 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

The New York Times notes that truth seems to be a particular casualty of the 2016 election. It might make one think of laws barring false campaign speech. But there are serious constitutional impediments to such laws, as I explored… Continue reading

“Garcetti explains email endorsement mistake”

November 8, 2015, 12:31 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

KPCC reports. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti expanded Friday on an email gaffe involving his endorsement of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Thursday email episode made headlines around the country. Through a city email account, a communications staffer for the… Continue reading

“PAC Money Sways New Jersey Elections”

November 5, 2015, 8:25 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WSJ: New Jersey Democrats will start 2016 with the largest majority in the state Assembly in 36 years, after they exceeded expectations in local elections Tuesday, picking up three seats and potentially a fourth. But one of the biggest winners… Continue reading