BNA has this report ($), which begins, “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed three bills Sept. 30 to boost disclosure of campaign finances and the financial interests of those serving or running for positions on state or local pension system boards,… Continue reading

SCOTUSblog named it petition of the day yesterday.

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the City of Long Beach’s cert petition in Long Beach v. Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. See this story. The Ninth Circuit struck down the City’s limitation on contributions to independent expenditure… Continue reading

The new issue of the Legislation & Statutory Interpretation eJournal includes this article by Steven Mulroy. Here’s the abstract: In this Article, Prof. Mulroy argues that the broadest of state “open meetings laws” violate the free speech rights of covered… Continue reading

Perhaps in the short run but maybe not in the long run, says Donald Tobin in his EL@M weekly comment

CLC Blog has this post.

The First Circuit has issued this order in Respect Maine PAC v. McKee, denying an emergency motion to preliminarily enjoin the matching funds provision and contribution limits in Maine’s law.

TPM has this post on allegations and counter-allegations involving a voter registration group in Harris County, Texas.

A major political party in India is urging the national Election Commission to adopt a “mechanism to ensure that a voter using the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) gets confirmation about his choice of vote.” My advice: Be careful what… Continue reading

LA City Councilman Richard Alarcon has been indicted on charges that he didn’t really live in the home that allowed him to represent his district According to this report, the evidence against him includes utility bills showing that the… Continue reading

A group called Free Speech for the People has submitted a letter from law professors and former public officials, asking members of Congress to consider a constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United. ACS blogs here.

The WaPo has this post. Update: Alex Halderman, a computer scientist at the University of Michigan, blogs here. Update 2: David Jefferson of Livermore National Laboratories has this post.

Marcy Murninghan argues here that Citizens United “opened the floodgates of corporate money into political campaigns and continues to reverberate throughout public life.”

First Read has this post on Republican-leaning outside groups outspending Democratic-leaning groups. In related news, Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center have asked the IRS to investigate Crossroads GPS, while Think Progress has this post on the U.S. Chamber of… Continue reading