[EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/24/15

Fri Apr 24 08:03:19 PDT 2015

Re FEC decision in MUR 6678—foreign national contributions to ballot committees.  No one mentioned that California state law prohibits such contributions- Cal Gov Code 85320.  If 441e does not apply to state and local ballot committees, does it nevertheless pre-empt state laws like California’s?  Or is California’s law still enforceable?

Joseph E. Sandler
Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock PC
1025 Vermont Ave NW  Suite 300
Washington  DC 20005
Tel: 202 479 1111
CELL  202  607  0700
Fax  202 479 1115

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Hasen
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2015 10:36 AM
To: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/24/15

Shuster muscled through transportation bill pushed by lobbyist girlfriend”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71994>
Posted on April 24, 2015 7:24 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71994> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico reports.<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/bill-shuster-transportation-bill-lobbyist-girlfriend-117302.html#ixzz3YE2TLV5k>
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“How Judges Evaluated Reforms at Democracy Slam 2015″<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71992>
Posted on April 24, 2015 7:20 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71992> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

FairVote<http://www.fairvote.org/research-and-analysis/blog/judges-weigh-in-during-final-slam-at-democracy-slam-2015/>.
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Posted in alternative voting systems<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>, campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, primaries<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>, redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>
” Wait … What? Agency Advising Calif. Governor on Payments to Counties Proposes Moving to VBM to Save Money”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71990>
Posted on April 24, 2015 7:18 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71990> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A ChapinBlog.<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2015/04/wait_what_agency_advising_cali.php>
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Posted in absentee ballots<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
We May See a New Flood of Foreign Money in Ballot Measure Elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71988>
Posted on April 24, 2015 7:16 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71988> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg BNA<http://news.bna.com/mpdm/MPDMWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=67469849&vname=mpebulallissues&jd=a0g5q3z5g1&split=0>:
The Federal Election Commission has dismissed—on a deadlocked party-line vote—charges that Manwin International, a foreign company producing online pornography, violated the law by bankrolling a campaign committee opposed to a Los Angeles ballot measure requiring the use of condoms in video sex scenes.
According to documents released April 23, the FEC’s three Republican commissioners voted to dismiss the case, supporting recommendations from the agency general counsel’s office.
An FEC counsel’s report<http://eqs.fec.gov/eqsdocsMUR/15044372921.pdf> concluded that a broad federal ban on foreign contributions in U.S. elections didn’t apply to ballot measure elections.
The three FEC commissioners holding Democratic seats on the FEC voted to pursue enforcement action in the case.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Candidate Clinton and the Foundation”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71986>
Posted on April 24, 2015 7:14 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71986> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT Editorial<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/opinion/candidate-clinton-and-the-foundation.html?ref=opinion&_r=0>:

It’s an axiom in politics that money always creates important friendships, influence and special consideration. Wise politicians recognize this danger and work to keep it at bay. When she announced her candidacy, Mrs. Clinton resigned from the foundation board (Bill Clinton remains on the board). This was followed by the announcement of tighter foundation restrictions on donations from foreign countries, which had resumed after she left the State Department.

These half steps show that candidate Clinton is aware of the complications she and Bill Clinton have created for themselves. She needs to do a lot more, because this problem is not going away.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>
“Are the Clintons too cozy with the people who give them money?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71984>
Posted on April 24, 2015 7:12 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71984> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports.<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/do-the-clintons-have-an-ethical-blind-spot-when-it-comes-to-their-donors/2015/04/23/24f8e74c-e9bb-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html>
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Charles Koch: We’re not in politics to boost our bottom line”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71982>
Posted on April 24, 2015 7:12 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71982> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Fascinating interview<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/23/charles-koch-interview-republican-president-primaries/25936305/> with Fredreka Schouten.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
Worries Jeb Bush Super PAC Strategy Legally Risky<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71980>
Posted on April 23, 2015 5:11 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71980> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/jeb-bush-2016-fundraising-117304.html>

Bush’s reluctance to declare himself a candidate or even that he’s exploring a run, which enables him to sidestep campaign finance rules, allows him to continue raising unlimited sums of money for the super PAC, which could have its own policy shop and serve as the primary message machine, walled off from Bush himself and his actual campaign.

“There’s a worry that this is setting them up for a number of legal challenges,” a Florida-based donor said. “There’s some freedom allowed by this but there’s also a lot of arrogance because, even if they think they’re on firm legal ground, we all know the intent of the law is not to have presidential campaigns being run out of a super PAC. It’s untested, it’s risky — there’s that chance that it blows up, that some unforeseen legal challenge actually sticks.

“And the optics are horrible. If he wins the nomination this way, Democrats will seize on the tactics as evidence that Jeb Bush thinks he can play by his own rules. It’s the same playbook we’re trying to run against Hillary, which would be out the window.”

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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Elections, Meet Academia; Academia, Meet Elections”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71978>
Posted on April 23, 2015 3:55 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71978> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

That’s the lead story in this month’s “The Canvass<http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/states-and-election-reform-the-canvass-april-2015.aspx>,” from NCSL.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
Ferguson on Bauer on Gilbert and Barnes on Coordination and Corruption in Campaign Finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71976>
Posted on April 23, 2015 12:40 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71976> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here.<https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/response-bauer>
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
WI Unsurprisingly Rejects Automatic Voter Registration<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71974>
Posted on April 23, 2015 12:37 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71974> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Last item.<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/legislatures-budget-committee-to-discuss-scott-walkers-proposals-b99486281z1-300917691.html>
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“The GOP presidential primary: A brawl of billionaires?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71972>
Posted on April 23, 2015 10:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71972> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Paul Waldman writes <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/04/23/the-gop-presidential-primary-a-brawl-of-billionaires/> for The Plum Line.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Online Voter Registration Numbers Grow”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71970>
Posted on April 23, 2015 10:07 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71970> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

That’s the lead story in this week’s Electionline Weekly<http://www.electionline.org/index.php/electionline-weekly>.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, voting technology<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>
CCP Responds to Reform Groups on IRS “49% Approach” to Social Welfare Organizations<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71968>
Posted on April 23, 2015 8:45 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71968> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Following up on this post<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=71520>, see here.<http://www.campaignfreedom.org/2015/04/22/%EF%BF%BC%EF%BF%BC%EF%BF%BC%EF%BF%BCstandards-for-tax-exemption-for-social-welfare-organizations/>
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law and election law<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>

--

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<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>

hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/

http://electionlawblog.org
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