Citizens United

Wisconsin Senate Passes Campaign Finance, Election Board Overhauls

Election Law Society · November 13, 2015 ·

By Dan Sinclair

In a lengthy session stretching from last Friday night to the early hours of Saturday morning, the Wisconsin Senate voted to approve a pair of bills making significant changes to the state’s campaign finance laws and election oversight. The latter provision entailed an official plan to replace Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (GAB), a nonpartisan elections and ethics board. Republican legislators had made both issues a priority in recent months, with last weekend’s vote coming less than a month after legislators held a hearing to propose sweeping changes.

NY Loophole Allows Individual’s $4.3 Million in Direct Contributions

Election Law Society · October 28, 2015 ·

By: Dan Carroll

Given the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court’s decisions upending federal campaign finance law in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the average voter might be surprised to find out that federal law still prohibits corporations from making direct contributions to candidates for federal office and limits the amount individuals can contribute to a particular campaign. On the other hand, twenty-two states allow but limit direct contributions from corporations to candidates for state office.

HI: Pay-to-Play Law is A-OK in the Aloha State

Election Law Society · October 21, 2015 ·

By: Mary C. Topic

Pay-to-play laws have risen in prominence in recent years, particularly after Citizens United came down. Pay-to-play laws regulate campaign contributions from government contractors, frequently by taking the form of prohibitions on the award of contracts to those who have made campaign contributions. In enacting such statutes, legislatures seek to combat both actual incidences of corruption, as well as the appearance of corruption.

Toeing the Line: FEC, DOJ, and Coordination Between Super PACs and Candidates

Election Law Society · April 28, 2015 ·

By Staff Writer:

Five years ago, the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United v. FEC and Speechnow v. FEC led to the creation of Super PACs, or independent expenditure-only political committees. Super PACs differ from candidate or political party committees in that they cannot contribute directly to candidates; they may only engage in independent spending on advertising, voter outreach, and the like. Furthermore, although Super PACs may support a particular candidacy, they are strictly prohibited from “coordinating” with candidate or political party committees. [Read more…] about Toeing the Line: FEC, DOJ, and Coordination Between Super PACs and Candidates

“War Chests” and Political Spending in Massachusetts: Are Unions and Corporations Similarly Situated?

Election Law Society · April 26, 2015 ·

By Allison Davis

In March of 2015, two family-owned companies headquartered in Massachusetts filed suit in state court challenging certain provisions of Massachusetts’ campaign finance laws. The provisions in question prohibit corporations and corporate PACs from contributing to candidates or political party committees, but permit labor unions and their PACs to directly contribute up to $15,000 per calendar year to candidates or parties. According to the plaintiffs’ complaint (filed as 1A Auto, Inc. v. Sullivan), this law represents a “lopsided ban” that stifles First Amendment-protected speech and associational rights for corporations. Additionally, the plaintiffs allege that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution by granting unions and their PACs a privilege that is forbidden to their corporate counterparts. [Read more…] about “War Chests” and Political Spending in Massachusetts: Are Unions and Corporations Similarly Situated?