[EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/22/13

Mon Apr 22 07:51:35 PDT 2013

    "Jacob Rowbottom: A surprise ruling? Strasbourg upholds the ban on
    paid political ads on TV and Radio"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49470>

Posted on April 22, 2013 7:47 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49470> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jacob 
<http://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2013/04/22/jacob-rowbottom-a-surprise-ruling-strasbourg-upholds-the-ban-on-paid-political-ads-on-tv-and-radio/>for 
the UK Constitutional Law Group:

    The European Court of Human Rights has given its decision in/Animal
    Defenders International
    <http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-119244>,/
    holding that the ban on political advertising on the broadcast media
    does not violate Article 10. I had been convinced that the
    Strasbourg Court, following earlier decisions in Switzerland and
    Norway, would come to the opposite conclusion -- but I am relieved
    that they did not. The ban on political ads has been a crucial
    measure that has helped to keep the cost of politics down in the
    UK.  That said, it was a close shave. The ban was upheld by a
    majority of 9, with 8 dissenting. The decision was published earlier
    this morning, so what follows are my initial thoughts. The approach
    of the majority stands in stark contrast to that in the US. While
    the US Supreme Court in /Citizens United/ rejected arguments that
    corporate spending can distort the electoral process, the Strasbourg
    Court accepted the argument that 'powerful financial groups' can
    'obtain competitive advantages in the area of paid advertising and
    thereby curtail a free and pluralist debate'. Not only that,
    concerns about distortion are not limited to the electoral period...

This is a very important development for UK campaign finance law.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "A red state/blue state chasm" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49467>

Posted on April 22, 2013 7:38 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49467> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Fred Hiatt WaPo column. 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fred-hiatt-the-red-stateblue-state-divide-is-worsening/2013/04/21/df830b7a-a90c-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html>

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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, 
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68> | Comments Off

    "Davidson County Election Chief, Under State Scrutiny, Lawyers Up"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49464>

Posted on April 22, 2013 7:36 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49464> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A ChapinBlog 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2013/04/davidson_county_election_chief.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HHHElections+%28The+Election+Aacdemy%29>.

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Posted in chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election 
administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> | Comments Off

    "Calera pastor involved in Shelby County's Voting Rights Act case
    faces rape charge' <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49462>

Posted on April 22, 2013 7:35 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49462> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

News 
<http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/04/calera_pastor_involved_in_shel.html> from 
Alabama.

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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | 
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    Total Amount of Spending in 2012 Presidential Election Tops $7
    Billion; Presidential Candidate Spending Declines in 2012 Compared
    to 2008 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49457>

Posted on April 21, 2013 8:29 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49457> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Lots of interesting tidbits to parse in this release 
<http://www.fec.gov/press/press2013/20130419_2012-24m-Summary.shtml>from 
the FEC.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "Obama inauguration fueled by corporations, unions; More than $18
    million flows in from sources Obama generally rejected four years
    ago" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49453>

Posted on April 20, 2013 9:55 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49453> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI 
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/04/21/12535/obama-inauguration-fueled-corporations-unions>:

    Corporations, unions and special interest groups fueled President
    Barack Obama's second inauguration ceremonies with more than $18
    million --- money the commander in chief generally rejected during
    his first inaugural.

    This money represents more than 40 percent of the nearly $44.6
    million the Presidential Inaugural Committee 2013 collected,
    according to a disclosure document filed Saturday night with the
    Federal Election Commission.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "Conservative Koch Brothers Turning Focus to Newspapers"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49450>

Posted on April 20, 2013 8:46 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49450> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/business/media/koch-brothers-making-play-for-tribunes-newspapers.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&>: 
"Three years ago, Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists 
and supporters of libertarian causes, held a seminar of like-minded, 
wealthy political donors at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colo. They 
laid out a three-pronged, 10-year strategy to shift the country toward a 
smaller government with less regulation and taxes. Three years ago, 
Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists and supporters of 
libertarian causes, held a seminar of like-minded, wealthy political 
donors at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colo. They laid out a 
three-pronged, 10-year strategy to shift the country toward a smaller 
government with less regulation and taxes. Other than financing a few 
fringe libertarian publications, the Kochs have mostly avoided media 
investments. Now, Koch Industries, the sprawling private company of 
which Charles G. Koch 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/charles_g_koch/index.html?inline=nyt-per> 
serves as chairman and chief executive, is exploring a bid to buy the 
Tribune Company 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/tribune_company/index.html?inline=nyt-org>'s 
eight regional newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago 
Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, The Orlando Sentinel and The Hartford Courant."

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, 
campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> | Comments Off

    "Watchdogs Urge FEC to Halt Proposal to Worsen Its Already
    Ineffective Enforcement of Campaign Finance Laws"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49447>

Posted on April 19, 2013 8:18 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49447> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Press release 
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2101:april-19-2013-watchdogs-urge-fec-to-halt-proposal-to-worsen-its-already-ineffective-enforcement-of-campaign-finance-laws&catid=63:legal-center-press-releases&Itemid=61>: 
"Today, the Campaign Legal Center, joined by Democracy 21, filed 
comments 
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/images/CLC_D21_Comments_on_Notice_2013-01_Enforcement_Process_4_19_01.pdf> 
with the Federal Election Commission urging the agency not to further 
weaken its already ineffective enforcement of campaign finance laws.  In 
response to a commission notice requesting comment as to whether the FEC 
is effectively enforcing the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), the 
watchdogs' response is an emphatic "no."  But the agency goes further 
and asks for comments as to whether it should further undermine its 
anemic enforcement process by adopting an official policy of willfully 
ignoring publicly available information and legal theories not 
specifically cited in complaints filed with the agency.  The watchdogs 
warn the FEC that the proposed policy of willful ignorance would only 
worsen an already ineffective enforcement process.'

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal 
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24> | Comments Off

    "More senators opt to e-file campaign disclosures"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49445>

Posted on April 19, 2013 8:17 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49445> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI: 
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/04/19/12518/more-senators-opt-e-file-campaign-disclosures>

    A small but increasing
    <http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/07/few-senator-file-fundraising-report.html>
    number of U.S. senators --- the only federal politicians still
    allowed to submit campaign finance reports on paper --- are opting
    to voluntarily file their disclosures electronically.

    Fourteen current senators chose to e-file their first-quarter
    campaign finance reports, which were due Monday, according to a
    Center for Public Integrity <http://www.publicintegrity.org>
    analysis of Federal Election Commission records
    <http://query.nictusa.com/senate/>.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "Why Hans von Spakovsky is Wrong on Voter Registration"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49443>

Posted on April 19, 2013 8:16 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49443> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jonathan Brater blogs 
<http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/why-hans-von-spakovsky-wrong-voter-registration>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter registration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37> | Comments Off

    "New York Reform = Public Financing"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49440>

Posted on April 19, 2013 8:14 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=49440> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT editorial. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/opinion/new-york-reform-public-financing.html?comments>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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-- 
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org

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