Monthly Archives: July 2011

Bob Biersack, the Federal Election Commission Spokesman, is Retiring

July 28, 2011, 11:32 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Politico scoop. Biersack is ever helpful, especially with data, and has had to negotiate some very treacherous waters being the unitary spokesman for an increasingly dysfunctional and divided Commission. He will be missed!

Eighth Circuit Issues Order Today Clarifying that Constitutionality of Minnesota Ban on Direct Corporate Contributions to Candidates Will Be on the Table in Swanson en banc

July 28, 2011, 11:25 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

See this order. From a James Madison Center press release emailed to me: The corporations then asked all 15 Judges of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to set aside the three-judge panel decision and re-hear their case. A… Continue reading

Free Download of ELJ Articles on “Time Shifting the Vote”

July 28, 2011, 10:25 amUncategorizedDan Tokaji

For a limited time, two articles from the current issue of Election Law Journal are available for free download. Both are part of a special issue on absentee and early voting, entitled “Time Shifting the Vote: The Quiet Revolution… Continue reading

2002: “501(c)(4) entities may be vehicles for political spending”

July 28, 2011, 9:46 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawJustin Levitt

In this post, I mentioned a prescient letter to the IRS from Greg Colvin and Rosemary Fei, asking for clarification on a host of (c)(4) issues. From the intro, written August 30, 2002: “Considering that a number of existing… Continue reading

Bopp Responds on Super-PACs

July 28, 2011, 9:32 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Following up on this post, Jim Bopp emails: Interesting take, but not really accurate. The RSPAC is a general election federal PAC and is not involved in primaries. In addition, we do not raise funds on our own, like… Continue reading

“Obama urged to act on contractor disclosure”

July 28, 2011, 8:48 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico reports.

More Hans v. Reality

July 28, 2011, 8:20 amelection administration, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Hans: “A 2010 election in Kansas that ended in a one-vote margin of victory included 50 votes cast illegally by citizens of Somalia.” Reality (Missouri Court of Appeals, affirming the following findings of the trial court) (note that this… Continue reading

“Podestas lead FEC bundling money list”

July 28, 2011, 7:36 amcampaign finance, lobbyingRick Hasen

This finding is consistent with what I found in researching my forthcoming Stanford piece on lobbying. Of course, only lobbyists are compelled to release bundling data.