Category Archives: campaigns

“The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency”

March 18, 2017, 2:11 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Must-read Jane Mayer on Robert Mercer for The New Yorker: Mercer strongly supported the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be Trump’s Attorney General. Many civil-rights groups opposed the nomination, pointing out that Sessions has in the past expressed racist views.… Continue reading

“Colorado Amends Law After Win in Pillar Ballot Selfie Free Speech Case”

March 18, 2017, 1:05 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Steve Klein: Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed House Bill 1014 yesterday, amending the state’s election law to allow voters to take and share photographs of their own marked ballots, an activity known as taking a “ballot selfie.” The bill followed… Continue reading

“The Voting Rights of Ex-Felons and Election Outcomes in the United States”

March 16, 2017, 1:45 pmcampaigns, felon votingRick Hasen

Tilman Klumpp, Hugo Mialon, and Michael Williams have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Approximately one in forty adult U.S. citizens has lost their right to vote, either temporarily or permanently, as a result of a felony… Continue reading

“Data Firm Says ‘Secret Sauce’ Aided Trump; Many Scoff”

March 6, 2017, 9:35 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Cambridge Analytica’s rise has rattled some of President Trump’s critics and privacy advocates, who warn of a blizzard of high-tech, Facebook-optimized propaganda aimed at the American public, controlled by the people behind the alt-right hub Breitbart News. Cambridge is… Continue reading

“Patience Gone, Koch-Backed Groups Will Pressure G.O.P. on Health Repeal”

March 5, 2017, 8:30 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Saying their patience is at an end, conservative activist groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and other powerful interests on the right are mobilizing to pressure Republicans to fulfill their promise to swiftly repeal the Affordable Care Act.… Continue reading

“Trump pleads for cash at closed donor retreat”

March 5, 2017, 8:22 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: President Donald Trump buttered up a room full of Republican donors Friday night by boasting of his upset 2016 election win and ticking through a list of his surprise swing state victories that even the party high rollers at… Continue reading

“Measure S mailers are probably protected free speech, law expert says”

March 1, 2017, 6:17 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

KPCC: You might have gotten a nasty surprise in the mail recently that read, “County of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. EVICTION NOTICE.” It’s not real, though. It’s a political mailer. And Los Angeles County officials were not happy. “The political… Continue reading

“N.J. Dems want to push future presidents to do what Trump wouldn’t: Release tax returns”

February 14, 2017, 1:41 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Philly.com: If President Trump, or anyone else, wants to get on the New Jersey ballot to run for president in 2020, he could have to release his tax returns, if some Democratic lawmakers have their way. Whether legislators have that… Continue reading

“Secret money fueling pro-Betsy DeVos ad campaigns”

February 6, 2017, 8:05 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

CPI reports.

Alaska: “Lawmakers consider protecting ‘ballot selfies’ as part of free speech”

February 2, 2017, 5:00 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

KTOO reports.

“McCrory didn’t hand over social media keys to Cooper”

January 21, 2017, 5:47 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

WRAL: When former Gov. Pat McCrory turned over the keys to North Carolina’s Executive Mansion to Gov. Roy Cooper on Jan. 1, his staff didn’t include the keys to the social media accounts used by the Governor’s Office. The Republican’s… Continue reading

Trump: Super PACs Need to be “Straightened Out”

January 18, 2017, 9:30 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Maggie Haberman for the NYT: President-elect Donald J. Trump, in a free-flowing speech Wednesday night at a dinner honoring his running mate, Mike Pence, jabbed at his new Republican allies and his critics alike, questioned the ethics of “… Continue reading

“Corporations Open the Cash Spigot for Trump’s Inauguration”

January 17, 2017, 7:43 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: When Donald J. Trump strides onto the inaugural ballroom floor this week amid the sprawling celebration of his swearing-in, he will have corporate America and many of its titans to thank for the rapturous greeting. Chevron, the oil giant,… Continue reading

“‘All Talk, No Action,’ Says Trump, in Twitter Attack on a Civil Rights Icon”

January 15, 2017, 8:33 amcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: On Friday, Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, declared that he did not view Donald J. Trump as a “legitimate president.” Mr. Lewis, an icon of the civil rights movement, said he planned to boycott the inauguration, the first… Continue reading