Category Archives: campaigns

“LinkedIn Co-Founder Apologizes for Deception in Alabama Senate Race”

December 28, 2018, 8:27 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Reid Hoffman, the tech billionaire whose money was spent on Russian-style social media deception in a Senate race last year, apologized on Wednesday, saying in a statement that he had not approved the operation and did not support such… Continue reading

“Disinformation campaign targeting Roy Moore’s Senate bid may have violated law, Alabama attorney general says”

December 27, 2018, 10:32 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Thursday that his office is exploring whether disinformation tactics deployed against Republican Roy Moore during last year’s special election violated state campaign laws and said he was worried that the operation could… Continue reading

“Updated: The Hidden Money Funding the Midterms”

December 27, 2018, 7:39 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

ProPublica: Allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used a blind spot in campaign finance laws to undercut a candidate from their own party this year — and their fingerprints remained hidden until the primary was already over. Super PACs,… Continue reading

“Janus Unleashed; In 2018, SCOTUS went after public-sector unions. Next up: a case that could decide the fate of public election financing.”

December 26, 2018, 3:31 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Mark Joseph Stern for Slate: Last Monday, the Washington Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to Seattle’s “democracy vouchers,” an innovative public financing scheme that’s already spreading to other cities. The measure has already allowed more young people, women,… Continue reading

“Black Voters, a Force in Democratic Politics, Are Ready to Make Themselves Heard”

December 26, 2018, 8:28 amcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: The first votes of the Democratic presidential primary remain more than a year away, but black voters are keenly aware of the prominent role they will play in choosing the next nominee. In 2016, Mr. Sanders’s “political revolution” flamed… Continue reading

#NC09: “Editorial: Gov. Cooper, Atty. Gen. Stein need to probe 9th District election troubles”

December 26, 2018, 8:23 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WRAL editorial.

“North Carolina Asked Feds To Indict Alleged Fraudster Last Year”

December 25, 2018, 5:36 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

AP: North Carolina’s top elections official issued an urgent plea nearly two years ago for the Trump administration to file criminal charges against the man now at the center of ballot fraud allegations that have thrown a 2018 congressional race… Continue reading

“Doug Jones ‘Outraged’ by Russian-Style Tactics Used in His Senate Race”

December 21, 2018, 9:33 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Senator Doug Jones of Alabama on Thursday said he was “outraged” to learn of deceptive online operations used by fellow Democrats to assist his election last year, and called for a federal investigation into the matter. He was responding… Continue reading

North Carolina: “Shadowy 9th District figure says he took cash in 2014 election”

December 20, 2018, 10:31 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WRAL: The man at the center of a state inquiry into 9th Congressional District election results indicated in a signed declaration last year that he essentially took cash under the table during the 2014 elections to help Bladen County’s current… Continue reading

“Trump 2020 campaign used a shell company to pay ad buyers at the center of alleged illegal coordination scheme with NRA”

December 19, 2018, 4:13 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Center for Responsive Politics: The Trump campaign funneled money to ad buyers alleged to have facilitated illegal coordination between the campaign and the NRA by routing funds through a secretive LLC that appears to be little more than a… Continue reading

North Carolina: “‘Do u care who u vote for?’ 2016 investigation found evidence of ballot harvesting”

December 19, 2018, 4:04 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

News and Observer: McCrae Dowless, a Bladen County elected official and political operative, paid workers to collect absentee ballots and return them to him before the 2016 election, witnesses told state board of election investigators, according to documents released … Continue reading

Remember “American/Western Tradition Partnership” Involved in Montana Elections in Case that Went to SCOTUS? Looks Like the National Right to Work Committee Was Secretly Behind It, Violating Montana Campaign Finance Laws

December 19, 2018, 9:36 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Montana Free Press: Thousands of newly uncovered documents and recently filed court records bolster already mounting evidence tying the anti-union National Right to Work Committee to the political activities of conservative nonprofit groups accused of improperly coordinating Republican legislative… Continue reading

“Russia and Republicans attempt to suppress black vote, but Russians are slicker”

December 19, 2018, 9:00 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Joe Davidson WaPo column.

“Super PACs and Dark Money Groups Outspent Candidates in a Record Number of Races in 2018”

December 19, 2018, 8:58 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Report: As Democrats and Republicans battled for dominance in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2018, super PACs and dark money groups collectively outspent the candidates’ own campaigns in a recordbreaking 16 races, according to data… Continue reading

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