Category Archives: campaigns

Harvard Law Review Covers New Hampshire Ballot Selfie Case, Rideout v. Gardner

April 14, 2017, 9:19 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Very nice treatment of the case: Vote buying, a practice carried over from England’s early experiments with democracy, was widespread in United States elections until the modern era.. A 1905 study of a New York City election, for example, found… Continue reading

Fewer Than 200 Ultra-Wealthy People Collectively Spent $1 Billion on 2016 Election

April 14, 2017, 9:11 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

That tidbit and much more in Open Secrets tally of Election 2016: That’s why we also looked at the top 1 percent of 1 percent of donors, a group of less than 200 people who spent almost $1 billion combined… Continue reading

“Political Parties and Candidates Dominated the 2016 House Elections While Holding Their Own in the Senate”

April 13, 2017, 9:34 amcampaign finance, campaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

New CFI analysis: Perhaps it is time to stop bemoaning the weakness of political parties in financing federal elections. The prevailing opinion is that since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, “outside groups” accepting unlimited contributions… Continue reading

Look at How Much Influence Super PAC Donors Have Over Even Very Rich Presidents

April 13, 2017, 7:51 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Mr. Bannon’s allies have already begun discussing a post-White House future for him. On Friday, his main political patron, Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of Robert Mercer, a major Trump donor, holed up in her office at Cambridge Analytica in… Continue reading

“Campaign mailer with photoshopped images draws accusations in L.A. City Council race for Valley seat”

April 11, 2017, 8:05 amcampaignsRick Hasen

LAT: Phootoshopped campaign mailers sent in a Los Angeles City Council race in the San Fernando Valley are sparking accusations of election law violation and counterallegations of hypocrisy. A political advocacy group called Latinas Lead California sent a “cease and… Continue reading

Chevron Corp., Private Prison Corporation Give Money to Super-PAC Running Islamophobic Ad Against Jon Ossoff

April 7, 2017, 7:54 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Good catch by Adam Smith. More here on the ad tying the Democratic candidate in the GA special election to Osama bin Laden.

“The Consequences of Election Timing”

April 3, 2017, 1:05 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Vlad Kogan, Stephane Lavertu and Zachary Peskowitz have posted this working draft. Here is the abstract: There is considerable debate about how election timing shapes who votes, election outcomes, and, ultimately, public policy. We examine these matters by combining… Continue reading

“Don’t Use the Ballot to Get Trump’s Tax Returns”

April 3, 2017, 10:11 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Derek Muller NYT oped. I expressed a more ambivalent view here in Politico.

“Ballot Selfies Allowed as U.S. Supreme Court Rebuffs New Hampshire”

April 3, 2017, 7:16 amcampaigns, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Greg Stohr: Voters in New Hampshire are free to take selfies with their election ballots and post the photos online after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to revive a state ban on the practice. The justices, without comment, left intact… Continue reading

“How States Could Force Trump to Release His Tax Returns”

March 30, 2017, 7:22 amballot access, campaignsRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Politico. A snippet: Now, though, a band of state lawmakers is attempting to succeed where so many others have failed. In at least 24 states, legislators have introduced bills that would force Trump… Continue reading

“Why Democrats Have a Shot in a Georgia District Dominated by Republicans”

March 29, 2017, 7:34 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Nate Cohn for NYT’s The UpShot: Mr. Ossoff probably would not have raised nearly as much money if he’d been competing for attention with 434 other races. His fund-raising tally is better than that of 96 percent of the congressional… Continue reading

“Judicial Candidates’ Right to Lie”

March 27, 2017, 1:13 pmcampaigns, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Nat Stern has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming Maryland Law Review). Here is the abstract: A large majority of state judges are chosen through some form of popular election. In Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, the Supreme Court… Continue reading

“Rewriting the Rules of Presidential Succession”

March 27, 2017, 7:25 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Norm Ornstein in the Atlantic: The Constitution leaves a lot of leeway for Congress. So it is time to consider a new law, one that cleans up the issues and discrepancies in the existing succession act but does more. It… Continue reading

“F.B.I. Is Investigating Trump’s Russia Ties, Comey Confirms”

March 20, 2017, 9:15 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Tuesday’s NYT A1: The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, took the extraordinary step on Monday of announcing that the agency is investigating whether members of President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Mr. Comey’s testimony before … Continue reading