[EL] ELB News and Commentary 1/6/14
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sun Jan 5 20:56:24 PST 2014
"Gator hunt? Dog sledding? Campaign fundraisers get creative"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57723>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:43 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57723>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
LAT report.
<http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-fundraisers-20140105,0,494262.story#axzz2paekUeLz>
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
"Board president's suicide comes amid FBI accusations of vote-buying
in Donna election" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57721>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:40 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57721>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Voter fraud investigation in South Texas takes tragic turn.
<http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_5c62e096-742a-11e3-892e-0019bb30f31a.html>
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Posted in bribery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>, chicanery
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, vote buying
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=43>
"Political Donors Chase Funding Alternative; IRS's Proposed Rules
Limiting Social-Welfare Groups Send Lawyers Scouting for Taxable,
For-Profit Options to Raise Cash" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57719>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:35 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57719>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WSJ
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304887104579302671398893050>:
With the Obama administration moving to curb campaign activity by
certain nonprofit groups, lawyers are scouring the tax code for
other financial vehicles that would allow political donors to
continue to spend money on elections while remaining anonymous.
One option gaining attention: Creating or using taxable, for-profit
businesses for political purposes. But that idea is already raising
questions about whether donors would be operating genuine companies,
or merely running campaign groups in disguise.
Another possibility drawing interest, election lawyers say, is for
donors to organize themselves as trade associations, akin to the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which doesn't have to disclose donor names.
The search for new ways to collect and distribute campaign cash
comes because the Internal Revenue Service proposed rules in
November to restrict political activity by social-welfare groups,
known in the tax code as 501(c)(4) groups. Social-welfare groups
aren't supposed to make electioneering their primary activity. But
their use in campaigns has soared in the last two years, in part
because they can accept donations of unlimited size and don't have
to disclose the names of their donors.
This is why I've testified <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=32374> that
the only kind of effective campaign disclosure law is one targeted at
the nature of the advertising/activity and not the tax form of the
organization engaged in the activity.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
"Outside money can be key factor in 2014 elections"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57717>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:26 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57717>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP reports.
<http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/outside-money-can-be-key-factor-2014-elections>
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
"Koch-backed political network, designed to shield donors, raised
$400 million in 2012? <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57715>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:23 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57715>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Must-read
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/koch-backed-political-network-built-to-shield-donors-raised-400-million-in-2012-elections/2014/01/05/9e7cfd9a-719b-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html?hpid=z1>
Matea Gold for WaPo:
The political network spearheaded by conservative billionaires
Charles and David Koch has expanded into a far-reaching operation of
unrivaled complexity, built around a maze of groups that cloaks its
donors, according to an analysis of new tax returns and other documents.
The filings show that the network of politically active nonprofit
groups
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-players-in-the-koch-backed-400-million-political-donor-network/2014/01/05/714451a8-74b5-11e3-8b3f-b1666705ca3b_story.html>
backed by the Kochs and fellow donors in the 2012 elections
financially outpaced other independent groups on the right and, on
its own, matched the long-established national coalition of labor
unions that serves as one of the biggest sources of support for
Democrats....
Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a University of Notre Dame Law School professor
who studies the tax issues of politically active nonprofits, said he
has never seen a network with a similar design in the tax-exempt world.
"It is a very sophisticated and complicated structure," said Mayer,
who examined some of the groups' tax filings. "It's designed to make
it opaque as to where the money is coming from and where the money
is going. No layperson thought this up. It would only be worth it if
you were spending the kind of dollars the Koch brothers are, because
this was not cheap."
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
The Voting Wars Come to Forsyth County, NC
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57713>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:15 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57713>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
A reader sends along the following links about a partisan fight over
firing the County's election director, ad the involvement of the
controversial Civitas Institute:
Forsyth elections board files petition to fire Coffman
http://m.journalnow.com/news/elections/local/article_8c42b4ce-62d9-11e3-8849-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=jqm
The Petition
http://civitasreview.com/files/2013/12/20131212140347248.pdf
Coffman denies misconduct in response to state elections board
http://m.journalnow.com/news/local/article_016a45aa-c63f-59ac-a06f-6977747dad74.html?mode=jqm
The Response
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/journalnow.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/ad/5adad9d4-7292-11e3-916d-0019bb30f31a/52c3877119ae7.pdf.pdf
El-Amin asks state director to suspend, not fire, Coffman
http://m.journalnow.com/news/local/article_cd831507-77cb-516e-86fc-463fd3296f49.html?mode=jqm
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
"What voter turnout means for efforts to remedy income inequality"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57711>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:04 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57711>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Dan Balz:
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/what-voter-turnout-means-for-efforts-to-remedy-income-inequality/2014/01/04/dbf6cb4c-7551-11e3-bc6b-712d770c3715_story.html?hpid=z3>
The gap between rhetoric about income inequality and action to deal
with it is sizable. There are many reasons for that, but one
possible explanation, according to a provocative new book, is the
contrasting views of Americans who vote and those who do not.
The book is titled "Who Votes Now? Demographics, Issues, Inequality,
and Turnout in the United States
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691159351?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0691159351&linkCode=xm2&tag=washingtonpost-20>."
The authors are two political scientists, Jan E. Leighley of
American University and Jonathan Nagler of New York University.
"Who Votes Now?" is a thoroughgoing examination of voter turnout
patterns from 1972 through 2008 and offers much to chew on. But its
most important finding, the authors say, is that, on crucial
questions about economic policy and redistribution, those who vote
do not represent the views of those who do not vote.
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Posted in voting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>
"Five Much-Needed Reforms That Could Make Our Politics Matter Again"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57709>
Posted on January 5, 2014 8:01 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57709>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
John Nichols writes
<http://www.thenation.com/blog/177753/democratic-vistas-2014-five-reforms-make-our-politics-matter#>
for /The Nation./
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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
"Senate Confirmation Process Goes 'Nuclear,' but Some Burdens Remain
| Commentary" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57707>
Posted on January 5, 2014 12:30 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57707>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Robert Rizzi and Jason Abel have writtenthis /Roll Call /oped
<http://www.rollcall.com/news/senate_confirmation_process_goes_nuclear_but_some_burdens_remain_commentary-229914-1.html>.
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Posted in legislation and legislatures
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, political parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
"Tangled Role in G.O.P. War Over Tea Party"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57705>
Posted on January 3, 2014 8:53 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57705>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/04/us/politics/tangled-role-in-gop-war-over-tea-party.html?ref=politics>
But this blitz of activity has led to complaints from Mr.
LaTourette's political opponents that under the guise of defending
the Republican Party from extremists, he is profiting from his
continued presence in the Washington spotlight. In addition, Mr.
LaTourette's activities have raised questions about whether, in his
dual roles, the former congressman violated the federal statute that
prohibits lawmakers from lobbying on Capitol Hill for a year after
leaving office.
Mr. LaTourette's situation underscores a new reality as the fierce
divisions in the Republican Party unleash tens of millions of
dollars in corporate funds, campaign donations and advocacy efforts,
creating potential windfalls for well-positioned strategists and
former officeholders. It also illustrates how vague the rules are
governing lobbying by former members of Congress.
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Posted in conflict of interest laws
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, ethics investigations
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42>, lobbying
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>
--
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://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org
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