Category Archives: campaigns

“Russians got tens of thousands of Americans to RSVP for their phony political events on Facebook”

January 25, 2018, 8:12 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Russian operatives used Facebook to publicize 129 phony event announcements during the 2016 presidential campaign, drawing the attention of nearly 340,000 users — many of whom said they were planning to attend — according to a company document released… Continue reading

SCOTUSBlog Symposium on Minnesota Political Apparel at the Polls Case, Mansky

January 24, 2018, 12:55 pmcampaigns, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Symposium before the oral argument in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky Special Feature: Special Feature: Symposium before the oral argument in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky Date Author Post Title 01.24.18 Daniel I. Weiner and Christopher R. Deluzio Symposium: Whose … Continue reading

“Trump Allies Are Profiting From Multiple Trump Groups, Testing Campaign Finance Laws”

January 24, 2018, 12:53 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

BuzzFeed: President Donald Trump’s close political advisers are making millions of dollars working for several different entities gearing up for Trump’s re-election campaign — raising questions about whether they are following campaign finance laws designed to keep campaigns from coordinating… Continue reading

From New Bauer, Ginsberg, Persily Report: “Fewer than 16,000 donors accounted for half the federal campaign contributions in 2016”

January 19, 2018, 7:24 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo on the new Bauer, Ginsberg, Persily report, with a troubling trend I wrote about in my 2016 book, Plutocrats United: More than 3.2 million Americans contributed to federal candidates in the 2016 elections, but fewer than 16,000 of… Continue reading

As Government May Shut Down, President to Headline $100,000-Per-Couple Fundraiser ($250K if you want to be at roundtable) at Mar-a-Lago Resort He Owns, Profiting from the Event Personally

January 19, 2018, 7:19 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg: President Donald Trump will mark the first anniversary of his inauguration on Saturday with a celebration at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, with tickets starting at $100,000 a pair. That amount, according to the invitation, will pay for dinner… Continue reading

“‘Fake News’: Wide Reach but Little Impact, Study Suggests”

January 2, 2018, 7:50 amcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: But now the first hard data on fake-news consumption has arrived. Researchers last week posted an analysis of the browsing histories of thousands of adults during the run-up to the 2016 election — a real-time picture of who viewed… Continue reading

“There’s still little evidence that Russia’s 2016 social media efforts did much of anything”

December 29, 2017, 7:50 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Philip Bump for WaPo: That idea was bolstered by a report from Yahoo News this week that investigators working with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III were talking to staffers for the Republican National Committee who worked with the Trump… Continue reading

“Democrats Struggle to Convert Voter Enthusiasm to Cash Contributions”

December 27, 2017, 10:57 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WSJ reports: Democrats want to win back control of Congress and build up their presence in state capitals during next year’s elections, but they begin this ambitious mission with precious little cash to finance it. The Democratic National Committee had… Continue reading

“Kremlin trolls burned across the Internet as Washington debated options”

December 26, 2017, 9:20 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Washington Post: The first email arrived in the inbox of CounterPunch, a left-leaning American news and opinion website, at 3:26 a.m. — the middle of the day in Moscow. “Hello, my name is Alice Donovan and I’m a beginner… Continue reading

Doug Jones’ Alabama Senate Victory Should Be Certified Senate Winner on Dec. 28; What Options Will Roy Moore Have?

December 24, 2017, 1:03 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill announced that the official certification of Doug Jones as the winner will be Dec. 28, allowing Jones to be sworn in when the Senate reconvenes on January 3. Roy Moore has not yet conceded… Continue reading

“Russian trolls went on attack during key election moments”

December 21, 2017, 12:04 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC News: Thousands of Russian trolls targeted national events during the 2016 U.S. presidential election to infiltrate the online conversations of millions of Americans, according to a new analysis of a database of recovered troll tweets by NBC News. The… Continue reading

“Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Election Systems from Cyberattacks”

December 21, 2017, 11:59 amcampaigns, chicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

Release: Lawmakers in the Senate introduced legislation today that would help states prevent cyberattacks on election infrastructure and enhance confidence in vote totals from electronic voting machines. The bill comes amid ongoing revelations about Russia’s unprecedented attempts to interfere in… Continue reading

“Facebook and the New Red Scare”

December 12, 2017, 8:06 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

David Keating and Paul Jossey in The Hill: Various interests have seized on Russian chicanery to push “reforms” lacking priority in less neurotic times. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter seeking new rules… Continue reading