Category Archives: campaigns

Trump Running Pre-Citizens United Type Campaign But Without Soft Money

August 22, 2016, 7:43 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT on the worst of both worlds for Trump campaign: The arrangement is a kind of throwback to the pre-Citizens United era, when party organizations — not independent “super PACs” and political nonprofits — assumed many of the financial and… Continue reading

“Sacramento’s new ‘slush funds’: Ballot measure committees”

August 22, 2016, 7:13 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

San Jose Mercury News: A Bay Area News Group analysis shows that the number of candidate-controlled ballot measure committees has skyrocketed from six to at least three dozen over the past decade. Of the nearly $3 million spent by… Continue reading

Something Unusual in Trump’s Latest Fundraising Report

August 21, 2016, 1:22 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Matea Gold for WaPo: However, Trump does not appear to be harvesting as much cash from those joint fundraising efforts as Clinton does. His campaign said that that it raised $64 million with the RNC through online donations and direct… Continue reading

“Foundation Ties Bedevil Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign”

August 21, 2016, 1:16 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: With Mrs. Clinton facing accusations of favoritism toward Clinton Foundation donors during her time as secretary of state, former President Bill Clinton told foundation employees on Thursday that the organizationwould no longer accept foreign or corporate donations should… Continue reading

Condemn Despicable Attacks on Trump Supporters—But Don’t Attribute It to the Clinton Campaign

August 21, 2016, 1:04 pmcampaigns, chicanery, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

I have long condemned violence and the threat of violence during elections. As I started a tweetstorm back in June, when some people were physically attacking Trump supporters, Our democratic system depends upon the ability to peacefully gather for political… Continue reading

New Trump TV Commercial Suggests Hillary Clinton Rigging Elections

August 19, 2016, 8:24 amcampaigns, chicanery, fraudulent fraud squad, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

The new commercial begins with the words: “In Hillary Clinton’s America, the system stays rigged against Americans.” This part of the commercial features two pictures, the first a polling place with the words “vote here” and the second with a… Continue reading

“How One Family’s Deep Pockets Helped Reshape Donald Trump’s Campaign”

August 18, 2016, 8:43 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Must-read Nick Confessore on how one plutocratic family has great influence over even a purported billionaire.

“Trump advisers waged covert influence campaign”

August 18, 2016, 5:41 pmcampaigns, chicanery, lobbyingRick Hasen

AP: A firm run by Donald Trump’s campaign chairman directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s ruling political party, attempting to sway American public opinion in favor of the country’s pro-Russian government, emails obtained by The… Continue reading

Google Partners with Perkins Coie to Offer Voting Information

August 18, 2016, 11:39 amcampaigns, election administration, voting technologyRick Hasen

This looks to be super useful to voters, and a fantastic project, but I suspect we will hear some Republican complaints on the partnership with one of the top Democratic law firms: We’re less than three months away from… Continue reading

“How to Beat Extremism”

August 18, 2016, 8:02 amcampaigns, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

William Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove in The Hill: When the federal appeals court in the capital of the former Confederacy struck down America’s most discriminatory voter suppression law, the judges noted that the bill passed by North Carolina’s 2013… Continue reading

Trump’s Hail Mary? Win with Help of Third Party Vote

August 18, 2016, 7:56 amballot access, campaigns, third partiesRick Hasen

NBC First Read: The reaction to the news of the latest Trump campaign shake-up has ranged from shock and disbelief to laughter. “Hiring [Breitbart’s Steve] Bannon to run the campaign in the midst of its crisis is insane,” Republican consultant… Continue reading

“How Bernie Sanders beat the clock — and avoided disclosure”

August 18, 2016, 7:37 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

CPI: As a Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont vociferously argued for political transparency, especially when money was concerned. Sanders insisted, for example, “on complete transparency regarding the funding of campaigns.” He decried“huge piles of undisclosed… Continue reading