[EL] Efficacy of Campaign Finance Reform

[Larry Levine]

Money does not always buy elections. I won a campaign for L.A. college trustee in March on a budget of $55,000 against the opposition’s $500,000.

Larry

 

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Benjamin Barr
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 3:50 PM
To: Steven John Mulroy (smulroy) <smulroy at memphis.edu>
Cc: law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] Efficacy of Campaign Finance Reform

 

Perhaps your students are on to something, Steven.

 

Well...except for the money buys elections mantra.  That's silliness squared.  

 

Or, as the Economist put it, people everywhere have deep-rooted suspicions that the "fix is in" regardless of the campaign finance laws in question.  England, where they ban egg ads and find monkey advertisements suspicious, shows similar results with its war on electoral speech.  Urban legends are so difficult to dislodge.  

 

As the Economist stated:  "I have covered elections in Britain and British voters voice exactly the same complaints, word for word. Angry, distrustful British voters are convinced that democracy is being undermined by vast sums of corrupting money, to the point that elected representatives are essentially bought and paid for by wealthy special interests.  Yet British election spending is regulated more tightly than any model dreamed of by even the most starry-eyed campaigner in America. Which suggests, I would submit, that when voters say that rich donors control everything, they may not be talking about absolute amounts of money, or even individual election rules."  http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/11/big-money-politics?zid=309 <http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/11/big-money-politics?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e> &ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e 

 

Campaign finance reform is a dying industry, thankfully.  I'm glad America's youth gets this.

 

Forward,

 

Benjamin Barr

General Counsel

Pillar of Law Institute 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 6:04 PM, Steven John Mulroy (smulroy) <smulroy at memphis.edu <mailto:smulroy at memphis.edu> > wrote:

Many of my election law students are of the view that all campaign finance reform efforts are doomed, that money always has been and always will be the determinant factor in politics.  I think this view may color their opinion of the value of learning about the law of campaign finance.  

 

I wonder if any of you can refer me to any studies, articles, or data suggesting that campaign finance reforms (even ones subsequently invalidated by the Court) can be effective? 

 

Steven Mulroy

Professor of Law

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs 

University of Memphis

Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law 

1 North Front Street 

Memphis, TN 38103

901.678.4494 <tel:901.678.4494>  office

View some of my research on my SSRN Author page: http://ssrn.com/author=114356



 


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