CCP
Litigation Backgrounder: Independence Institute v. Gessler and Independence Institute v. FEC
The Independence Institute’s fears are not conjectural. Ideological opponents of the Institute have in the past abused Colorado’s campaign finance disclosure system, demanding the organization disclose its donors. Thankfully, a Colorado Administrative Law Judge agreed with the think tank that it need not register and report its donors.Consequently, the Independence Institute seeks the protections of a federal court order before speaking. Because the general election—and consequently, the electioneering communications window—is quickly approaching, the Independence Institute also seeks preliminary injunctions to allow it to speak before its opportunity to do so is lost.
Independent Spending and Independent Voters
By Luke WachobThe use of “turned off” to describe voters’ reactions to campaign advertising is revealing. In the minds of many, if campaign speech inspires voters to support a candidate, it is good, but if campaign speech repulses voters to oppose a candidate, it is bad. Thus voters are said to be “turned off” when they are actually becoming more active, and commentators like Ms. Roberts can simultaneously celebrate the arrival of independents while demonizing what brought them to the polls.We often have to remind folks that voters are not sheep. They do not simply pull the lever for whichever candidate spends the most money on advertising. What campaign spending does do is increase voter knowledge and interest in elections. If Ms. Roberts wants to see independent voters continue to grow in Arizona, she shouldn’t advocate fordisclosure policies that will reduce the overall quantity of information about candidates available for voters. Stifling speech is the last thing we should do if we’re trying to get more people to the polls.Political participation because you love Candidate A or hate Candidate B is still political participation. If it’s a good thing that people who usually don’t vote are suddenly voting now, then rising independent spending ought to be celebrated for its role in motivating these voters too.
Amending the First Amendment
NRLC: NRLC letter to Senate urging rejection of S. J. Res. 19, a constitutional amendment to curb free speech that may “influence elections”
Freedom of the press is not merely a “cardinal principle” derived from the First Amendment, but an explicit clause of the First Amendment – yet, the drafters of S. J. Res. 19 found it necessary to include Section 3, which provides that “nothing in this article shall be construed to grant Congress or the States the power to abridge the freedom of the press.” This implicitly recognizes that “the press” consists largely of “corporations or other artificial entities created by law” that often spend money in ways that influence elections, so Section 3 is necessary to prevent giving legislators power to directly restrict “the press.” The inclusion of this rule also underscores that S. J. Res. 19 does indeed empower legislators to override all of the other provisions of the First Amendment – those dealing with free speech, the right to assemble, the right to petition, and the right to free exercise of religion – if they base the abridgements on the perceived need to curb activity they deem may “influence elections.” Moreover, the severing of freedom of speech from “the freedom of the press” should especially alarm any groups that advocate for causes that are out of favor with the “mainstream news media” or with Hollywood. Who will determine whether a given communicator is afforded the privileged status of “the press,” the only collective entity still allowed to engage in unrestricted communications that may “influence elections”?
Politicker NJ: Constitutional Amendment Won’t Solve Campaign Finance Problems
By Donald ScarinciEven if it were possible to amend the constitution, the Udall proposal will not change the faulty premise upon which the “sound bite” cry for campaign finance reform is based.New Mexico Senator Tom Udall has proposed legislation that would amend the U.S. Constitution to authorize Congress “to regulate the raising and spending of money” in elections. The measure would specifically grant Congress and the states the power to place limits on:
Independent Groups
CPI: Can this ‘dark money’ group help the Democrats keep the Senate?
By Michael BeckelLiberals may blame conservatives for the ongoing surge of political “dark money” dominating the 2014 midterm elections. But Democrats are now taking full advantage of these secretive, free-wheeling political behemoths, while at the same time, bemoaning their influence.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Cincinnati Enquirer: Can Politicians Lie? Court to Decide.
By Amber HuntOn Thursday, lawyers from both sides will present their cases to Black, whose decision could dramatically affect the future of political campaigns in Ohio. Black, in allowing Driehaus to sue the Susan B. Anthony List for defamation, already has said that the organization made untrue statements when it tied Driehaus’ vote on health care reform to support for taxpayer-funded abortions. Now he will decide if lying is legally protected speech.Chris Finney, a lawyer and co-founder of COAST, is optimistic that Black will strike down the ban and end what he calls the elections commission’s “reign of intimidation.”“The reality is we live in Ohio under threat of criminal prosecution and administrative harassment by a ‘ministry of truth’ that really almost no other state has to the extent that we do,” Finney said Wednesday. “The reality is that it’s constitutionally offensive.”
Star Tribune: Appeals court strikes down 101-year-old Minnesota law that makes lying about ballot initiatives a crime
By RANDY FURST“It is a huge victory because ordinary citizens can now support or oppose ballot questions, including school bond levies, without fear of being subjected to expensive litigation regarding their campaign speech,” said Bill Mohrman, a Minneapolis attorney who brought the appeals court case.The appeals court did not rule on an even older section of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act that prohibits false statements against candidates. Under Tuesday’s ruling, that portion probably wouldn’t survive a constitutional challenge, said Mohrman.
Former Gov. McDonnell
NY Times: Judge Rejects Defense’s Criteria for Convicting Ex-Governor Bob McDonnell as Jury Gets Case
By TRIP GABRIELA key ruling by the judge was on the definition of an “official action” taken by Mr. McDonnell during the period of the indictment. The judge defined bribery as trading something of value “for official actions by a public official — in other words, quid pro quo.”Mr. McDonnell’s defense has argued that the things he did for Mr. Williams, such as introducing him to officials in his cabinet, were trivial courtesies and not official acts. The judge rejected that argument. He told jurors that official actions were not just a governor’s job description as codified by law. They also include “actions clearly established by settled practice as part of public office” — that is, seemingly everything related to a governor’s administration.The judge’s instructions, read for two hours, were full of legal language, and it was unclear how closely jurors might parse his descriptions of law in the face of the strong narrative cases both sides presented: prosecutors lingering over the details of Rolexes and Ferraris, the defense describing the broken marriage of the McDonnells and Ms. McDonnell’s crush on Mr. Williams.
Disclosure
Washington Post: Top campaign donors mostly live in California, New York
By Colby ItkowitzLast month we broke down who the richest person in every state donates to, and then to which party the very wealthiest in the country steer their political contributions. This led us to another question: Where geographically is most of the political money concentrated?What we found shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. The lion’s share of political money originates on the coasts, particularly California and New York, which is common every cycle. These are also popular destination spots for top-dollar fundraisers.
FEC
NY Times: The Elections Cop Invites Mischief
EditorialThe percentage of F.E.C. deadlocks is much higher now than before 2008, when three Republicans joined the panel determined to loosen federal regulations on campaigns. It’s increasingly clear that commission’s current structure doesn’t work; the president should be allowed to appoint a permanent chair as a seventh member, to break ties. If the agency still refuses to enforce the law, at least voters will know who is responsible.
State and Local
Connecticut –– Yale Daily News: With staff rebound, Democracy Fund could expand
By ISAAC STANLEY-BECKERAfter eight months in which staff attrition hindered the board administering the New Haven Democracy Fund, the city’s public-financing system is back on its feet this fall — with a quorum of board members working on a proposal that could expand the fund to aldermanic races.Board members said they are crunching numbers to figure out a feasible way to infuse public money into hyper-local races. At its next meeting, scheduled for either Sept. 23 or Sept. 30, these details will begin to take shape, and the board hopes to have a proposal to submit to the Board of Alders by the end of the year.
New York –– Wall Street Journal: Fundraiser Reaches Plea Deal Over Campaign-Finance Charges
By MARA GAYA Texas fundraiser charged with making fraudulent campaign donations to U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm will accept a plea deal in federal court Wednesday, her attorney said.Prosecutors accused Diana Durand of illegally steering thousands of dollars to the 2010 congressional campaign of Mr. Grimm, a Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. Pleading guilty is “in her best interest,” defense attorney Stuart Kaplan said Tuesday.
