Category Archives: campaigns

The partisan campaign finance horse race

January 3, 2020, 4:35 pmcampaign finance, campaignsJustin Levitt

The WaPo summarizes the reported candidate and party committee hauls for 2019 ($463 million for Trump and the RNC, for example). It seems fair to compare RNC solo fundraising to DNC solo fundraising, and Trump’s re-elect to Obama’s 2012 re-elect. … Continue reading

“Beauty on the Ballot: Candidates’ Attractiveness Plays Role in Voters’ Decisions, Especially in U.S.”

December 31, 2019, 2:04 pmcampaignsJustin Levitt

A study by Sebastian Jäckle et al. finds an advantage up to 11% for congressional candidates based on appearance alone. The study itself – titled “A Catwalk to Congress” – is here.

“Decade in review: Citizens United and campaign spending”

December 30, 2019, 1:01 pmcampaign finance, campaignsJustin Levitt

SCOTUSblog has a running decade-in-review series, and Citizens United occupies 14% of the space so far.

North Carolina: “‘Get off Facebook.’ Local election officials warned over partisan posts”

December 24, 2019, 9:10 amcampaigns, election administrationRick Hasen

News and Observer: Members of the State Board of Elections admonished county election board members to “get off Facebook” and “delete your Twitter account,” as they reviewed the latest complaints of improper social media posts by local election officials.The… Continue reading

“Russian disinformation network said to have helped spread smear of U.S. ambassador to Ukraine”

December 17, 2019, 8:13 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: The story that appeared on The Hill website on March 20 was startling.Marie Yovanovitch, the American ambassador to Ukraine, had given a “list of people whom we should not prosecute” to Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, according to… Continue reading

“When Madison Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue Merge: A Review of “Political Brands'”

December 16, 2019, 8:25 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Eric Segall: f you are worried about the state of our political system in the age of Facebook advertising, Russian interference in our elections, dark money in politics, and President Trump’s Twitter account, among many other disturbing trends, Professor Ciara… Continue reading

“A Great Big Gift Not on Trump’s Disclosure Form: Giuliani’s Legal Advice”

December 13, 2019, 7:46 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: For the past 20 months, President Trump has received free personal legal services from one of America’s highest-paid lawyers, who has traveled around the country and across the ocean to defend him in the special counsel’s inquiry and press… Continue reading

“New Report Finds $39.7 Million Spent on Campaigns for State Supreme Court Judgeships in 2017-2018, $10.8 Million of it by Special Interest Groups”

December 11, 2019, 9:26 amcampaign finance, campaigns, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Brennan Center release.

“House Democrats Unveil Articles of Impeachment Against Trump”

December 10, 2019, 7:52 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: House Democrats announced on Tuesday that they would move ahead this week with two articles of impeachment charging President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, as they accused him of violating the Constitution by pressuring Ukraine… Continue reading

“The Cybersecurity 202: Russia’s efforts to target U.K. elections a stark warning for 2020”

December 9, 2019, 8:51 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: An alleged Russian influence campaign to undermine this week’s British elections shows how tough it will be to keep foreign influence out of the 2020 U.S. contest.Russian-backed accounts on Reddit actively worked to boost the trove of documents appearing… Continue reading

“Nonprofit founded by Donald Trump allies plans to give away $25,000 in cash at upcoming Cleveland event”

December 8, 2019, 8:19 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Cleveland.com: Prominent supporters of President Donald Trump say they’re planning an event in Downtown Cleveland next weekend, attended by Trump administration officials, that will include a $25,000 cash giveaway for the general public…. Lanier said the event will be held… Continue reading

Is Mike Bloomberg Breaking the Law by Continuing to Control Bloomberg News While a Presidential Candidate?[UPDATE: Probably Not]

December 5, 2019, 8:55 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

News item: Michael Bloomberg temporarily had a tiny but extremely questionable advantage in the 2020 presidential race: if you typed “Mike” into one of his company’s roughly 325,000 news terminals around the globe, you were redirected to his campaign site, … Continue reading

“Indictment Details How Emirates Sought Influence in 2016 Campaign”

December 5, 2019, 8:13 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: The indictment accused Mr. Nader of funneling more than $3.5 million in illicit campaign donations through Mr. Khawaja to buy access and influence in Washington — initially with Mrs. Clinton and her Democratic allies during the 2016 campaign, and… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law