Cass Sunstein: It is unquestionably true that money often distorts political outcomes, because it plays an intolerably large role in the political system. Warren, Sanders and Lessig are right to emphasize that moneyed interests sometimes block desirable action. As Nobel … Continue reading
NYT: But the mammoth big-money network assembled by Republicans in recent years is torn about how best to defuse the threat Mr. Trump holds for their party, and haunted by the worry that any concerted attack will backfire. In phone … Continue reading
WaPo: A congressional ethics panel announced Thursday that Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) may have improperly used tax-payer funded congressional staff and resources for campaign activity in 2012 and 2014. A report from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) found that there … Continue reading
At the Lectern: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association v. Padilla — the case to decide whether the Legislature can ask the voters to give their advisory opinion whether the United States Constitution should be amended to overturn the United States Supreme … Continue reading
Open Secrets reports. … Continue reading
Smart Lynn Vavreck NYT Upshot column: Mr. Trump may continue to eschew money from lobbyists and special interests and condemn those candidates who take it, but a closer look at the F.E.C. fund-raising numbers reveals an interesting pattern that underscores … Continue reading
Bloomberg: But “not coordinated” isn’t clearly defined, and candidates have taken advantage of that. This year almost every presidential candidate in the field has at least one supporting super-PAC that’s ostensibly acting independently of his or her campaign, though staffed … Continue reading
David Keating for the Daily Caller: That’s why the quick rush to cover Lessig is important to note. You see, passing even more complicated campaign finance laws isn’t actually about saving America from corruption. Lessig, the media, and the rest … Continue reading
LAT: Californians will have an easier time determining who is giving money to political candidates and causes starting Thursday, when a new tool becomes available on the secretary of state’s website. The antiquated CalAccess system, which shows political donations and … Continue reading
A debate in the Wisconsin Law Journal. … Continue reading
He’s at $734K, and says he needs to reach $1 million by Labor Day in order to run for president. Will he reach it? Will he nonetheless run if he falls a bit short? (You can hear my ELB Podcast, … Continue reading
At Concurring Opinions (scroll down): Rick Hasen Interviews Floyd Abrams: Selected Excerpts UCI Law Professor Rick Hasen has done it again — he has made the Election Law Blog even more appealing. By way of yet more value added, … Continue reading
CPI reports. … Continue reading
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: The head of the state’s elections agency largely defended a former employee Tuesday for how he discussed an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign in emails. However, Kevin Kennedy acknowledged he had talked to the employee numerous times … Continue reading
Demos: The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FECallowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence American politics. But, the American public is kept from understanding the full impact of new corporate money in politics because of … Continue reading
Weigel: Conservative undercover journalist James O’Keefe has released the second in an ongoing series of videos inside Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The latest from Project Veritas Action accuses the Democratic frontrunner’s director of marketing and FEC compliance director of breaking … Continue reading
Fred Wertheimer writes for Huff Post (Entertainment!). … Continue reading
Bloomberg: An obscure company that contributed to the super-PAC backing Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign has ties to the chief operating officer of the nation’s second largest homebuilder, public records show. … Continue reading
Daniel Greenwood has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article proposes several routes to reverse Citizens United, the Supreme Court case holding that corporate campaign spending is “speech” protected by the First Amendment. The core problem … Continue reading
From the latest document dump, via Dave Levinthal: … Continue reading
Ken Doyle for Bloomberg BNA: Partisan deadlocks at Federal Election Commission have been highlighted as the source of dysfunction at the beleaguered agency, but a new analysis of some of the most controversial matters handled by the FEC shows that … Continue reading
Seth Masket at Pacific Standard: Overall, Lessig seems to be treating the presidency as a symbol, or simply a bulletin board on which to attach his reform manifesto. The presidency may be those things (and has certainly been used as … Continue reading
I’ve just approved the final corrections to my Yale University Press book, Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and the Distortion of American Elections due out Jan. 12. (You can preorder at a 28% discount at Amazon.) I’ll be … Continue reading
Release: In a letter released today, 44 senators are calling on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White to act on a rulemaking petition that would require companies to disclose their political spending. Spearheaded by U.S. Sens. … Continue reading
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial. … Continue reading
NYT editorial. … Continue reading
Bauer weighs in. … Continue reading
Larry Lessig for president? The campaign finance reformer considers throwing his hat in the ring and proposes being president only long enough to pass a package of election reforms. What does Lessig believe about campaign finance? What other changes would … Continue reading
Fascinating Trip Gabriel for the NYT: Is Iowa for sale? That is the perception sending shudders through the state’s Republicans, after the leader of Rick Perry’s Iowa campaign quit when Mr. Perry suspended pay to staff members, then quickly went … Continue reading
We hope to see you there: Political Parties and Campaign Finance in the Post-Citizens United World Sat, September 5, 10:15am to 12:00pm, Hilton, Mason RoomSession Submission Type: Full Panel Session Description Political Parties and Campaign Finance in the Post-Citizens … Continue reading
Weekly Standard: This economic critique fits into a sophisticated attack on the present state of presidential campaign finance. It is not a call for reform. It is a boast of his own unbuyability in a world where all politicians can … Continue reading
The Iowa Republican has this item of interest. … Continue reading
Nick Confessore for the NYT: When Ready for Hillary, a pro-Hillary Rodham Clinton “super PAC,” wanted to take out a million-dollar loan five months before it planned to go out of business, it turned to a bank that was founded … Continue reading
Larry Lessig responds to Tom Mann’s post of yesterday: I get the appeal in blaming Republicans. I understand the attraction in good vs evil stories. I see the strength in the partisan rally. I get it’s a great strategy for … Continue reading
Mark Schmitt for Vox. … Continue reading
Steven Rosenfeld at Alternet: Given the arc of Lessig’s activism, it’s not surprising that an individual who is driven to address one of the fundamental flaws in American politics is willing to embrace one of America’s most divisive politicans because … Continue reading
WSJ editorial: Wisconsin’s Supreme Court shut down the John Doe investigation of conservative groups in July, but it turns out the probe was even worse than the judges knew. Documents filed at the state Supreme Court opposing Special Prosecutor Francis … Continue reading
Election 2016: Dumbing Down American Politics: Lawrence Lessig and the Presidency: The hubris of the Harvard Professor is breathtaking. In virtually every respect, his strategy is absurd. Lessig’s political reform agenda is stymied by Republicans, not Democrats. Why not direct … Continue reading
Roll Call: But the recent complaints could signal a shift from how the parties have approached complaints in the past. “A general truce was in place for a number of years as both parties realized it wasn’t in their interest,” … Continue reading
The Daily Beast reports. … Continue reading
Joining me on Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast is the nation’s leading First Amendment lawyer, Floyd Abrams. Floyd was one of the lawyers arguing in the Supreme Court in the 2010 case, Citizens United v. FEC, which freed corporate and … Continue reading
News from New York. … Continue reading
Politico Playbook quotes from a Glenn Thrush article as follows: To the annoyance of the Clinton campaign, Biden’s allies have strategically leaked his modest, noncommittal doings to the media, which have given otherwise ho-hum confabs with Elizabeth Warren and President … Continue reading
Jack Shafer writes for Politico. … Continue reading
AFP reports. … Continue reading
WSJ: Campaigns and super PACs supporting four Republican governors running for president raised at least $2.5 million in legal donations from companies with state contracts or taxpayer subsidies, illustrating potential conflicts of interest that may emerge when candidates exit the … Continue reading
NYT (which still puts “Super PACs” in quotes): But Mr. Sanders’s fund-raising strategy will test the prevailing notion in Washington that no candidate can successfully compete on the national stage without tapping into the many millions of dollars that have … Continue reading
Brian Svoboda: The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today left standing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “pay-to-play” rule, which bars investment advisers from providing paid services to state and local governments when making certain … Continue reading
NYT: Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign has received commitments from four Democratic state parties, including in the crucial proving ground of New Hampshire, to enter joint fund-raising agreements with the campaign just as the nomination battle is beginning. The four are … Continue reading
Matea Gold for WaPo: A Democratic legal watchdog group has filed a new Federal Election Commission complaint against 11 GOP presidential candidates, the Republican National Committee and several groups in the Koch political network, saying their participation in a data-sharing … Continue reading