[EL] Congressional candidate caught in bed with head of super PAC

[Sean Parnell]

I’m not sure what it says about me, but my first reaction was “Hey, San
Dimas – their high school football team rules
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgAGkxAtzIg> , right?”

 

Sean

 

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 1, 2016 10:22 AM
To: law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] Congressional candidate caught in bed with head of super
PAC

 

:-) 

On 4/1/16 9:13 AM, Craig Holman wrote:

Every April 1, Rick reminds me that I am utterly devoid of a sense of humor.
Last April Fool's Day, I was furiously researching the court decision that
Rick blogged about which declared that bribery is a First Amendment right --
futilely, of course. This April Fool's I was researching a coordination
complaint about a candidate in bed with the head of a super PAC.

 

Craig Holman, Ph.D.
Government Affairs Lobbyist
Public Citizen
215 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
T-(202) 454-5182
C-(202) 905-7413
F-(202) 547-7392
Holman at aol.com <mailto:Holman at aol.com> 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Hasen  <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu> <rhasen at law.uci.edu>
To: law-election  <mailto:law-election at UCI.edu> <law-election at UCI.edu>
Sent: Fri, Apr 1, 2016 8:51 am
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/1/16


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81422> “Congressional Candidate Caught in
Bed with Head of Supportive Super PAC”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81422> April 1, 2016 5:46 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 <https://youtu.be/5JV_hzOdoSU> Roll Call HOH:

A congressional candidate running for office in San Dimas, California was
found naked in bed in a hotel room with the head of a supportive Super PAC,
after hotel security responded to calls of loud noises emanating from the
room.

While the candidate’s spokesperson did not deny that the candidate was
caught in bed with the head of the Super PAC, he denied that there was any
illegal coordination violating federal election laws. “So long as there was
no discussion of advertising or campaign strategy, this is completely
kosher,” the spokesperson explained. Officials at the FEC refused to comment
on the specifics of the case, noting that it could be the subject of an
official complaint, but sources within the agency indicated the agency would
likely split 3-3 should the question come before the Commission.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> campaign finance


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81420> “Kobach: Okay for Poll Workers to
Question People with ‘Funny Accents,’ ‘Strange Names'”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81420> April 1, 2016 5:34 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/esurance-offers-election-insurance/
303345/> Wichita Eagle:

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who has made stopping illegal
immigration and voter fraud a cornerstone of his policies, and to whom the
Kansas legislature has given
<http://cjonline.com/news/2015-06-08/brownback-signs-bill-giving-kobach-pros
ecution-power> prosecutorial powers over election fraud, said it is
perfectly appropriate for poll workers to give greater scrutiny to “voters
who raise suspicions, such as those with funny accents, strange names, or
other indicia they might be trying to defraud the people of Kansas.”

“Look, just like police engage in racial profiling for a reason, there’s a
reason we might want to target those who are different from normal Kansans
for special scrutiny,” said Kobach, who has drawn the ire of Democrats and
voting rights groups. Despite Kobach’s rhetoric, his office has
<http://cjonline.com/news/2015-06-08/brownback-signs-bill-giving-kobach-pros
ecution-power> uncovered and prosecuted only a handful of voter fraud claims
in Kansas.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8> fraudulent fraud squad


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81418> “Ducey signs campaign finance bill
assailed by critics as pro-dark money”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81418> April 1, 2016 5:19 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/03/31/ducey-signs-campaign-finance-bill
-assailed-by-critics-as-pro-dark-money/> Arizona Capitol Times:

Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill that completely rewrites Arizona’s campaign
finance laws, including a provision that critics say will open the state up
to more dark money in elections.

Secretary of State Michele Reagan pushed SB1516 with the stated goal of
simplifying Arizona’s outdated campaign finance statutes. Most of the bill’s
provisions have been noncontroversial.

But several key parts of the law have raised the ire of legislative
Democrats and others would make it far more difficult for state elections
officials to crack down on nonprofit groups that break the rules in spending
dark money.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> campaign finance,
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> tax law and election law


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81416> “No, Commissioner Weintraub, the FEC
Can’t Circumvent Citizens United”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81416> April 1, 2016 5:15 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-dickerson/no-commissioner-weintraub_b_9
585932.html> Allen Dickerson:

In an
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/opinion/taking-n-citizens-united.html?_r=
1> opinion piece published yesterday in The New York Times, Ellen Weintraub,
a member of the Federal Election Commission, suggests a way to “blunt the
impact” ofCitizens United v. FEC. There are reasons to question the
propriety of a federal officer attempting to “blunt” a First Amendment
ruling against her agency, and I am unaware of another federal entity whose
commissioners routinely take to the pages of major newspapers to decry
binding Supreme Court precedent. But no matter how attractive you find her
proposed “zero-tolerance standard,” under which any corporation with even a
single foreign shareholder could be barred from any political activity, her
proposal relies on a number of fatal legal errors.



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


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81414> “McConnell: Likely No Vote for
Democratic #SCOTUS Nominee Before 2020”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81414> April 1, 2016 5:12 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 <http://bgr.com/2016/04/01/google-gmail-drop-mic-april-fools/> WaPo:

Facing the increasing prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency, Senate
majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) sought to lay the groundwork for
denying Democrats a crucial fifth vote on the United States Supreme Court
well past Inauguration Day in January.

According to a Republican insider, who asked for anonymity in order to speak
frankly about internal political strategy, the increasing chances of a
Donald Trump Republican nomination and a loss to Democrats in November has
led to new strategies for delay. “McConnell’s pitch is going to be this:
<http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/23/politics/joe-biden-supreme-court-senate-repub
licans/> we’ve already said that the next Supreme Court appointment is so
crucial to our country that we should let the people vote before making such
a crucial decision. And while it’s true we’ll be choosing a president and
one-third of the Senators in 2016, the other two-thirds won’t be chosen
until 2018 and 2020. Only after these votes is it fair to consider whether
to confirm a president’s nominee.”

 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-deadlocks-
over-public-employee-union-case-calif-teachers-must-pay-dues/2016/03/29/b99f
aa30-f5b7-11e5-9804-537defcc3cf6_story.html> After the Supreme Court’s 4-4
deadlock in a case last week involving the power of public sector unions,
everyone recognizes the stakes of who controls the Supreme Court could not
be higher. According to the insider, McConnell told fellow Republican
senators that he agreed with Donald Trump on one thing: “
<http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/13/trump-delay-delay-delay-a-supreme-court-a
ppointment-video/> Delay, delay, delay.“



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29> Supreme Court


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81412> “How to Hack an Election”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81412> April 1, 2016 4:38 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-to-hack-an-election/?cmpid=BBD04
0116_POL&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=> Bloomberg:

For eight years, Sepúlveda, now 31, says he traveled the continent rigging
major political campaigns. With a budget of $600,000, the Peña Nieto job was
by far his most complex. He led a team of hackers that stole campaign
strategies, manipulated social media to create false waves of enthusiasm and
derision, and installed spyware in opposition offices, all to help Peña
Nieto, a right-of-center candidate, eke out a victory. On that July night,
he cracked bottle after bottle of Colón Negra beer in celebration. As usual
on election night, he was alone.

Sepúlveda’s career began in 2005, and his first jobs were small—mostly
defacing campaign websites and breaking into opponents’ donor databases.
Within a few years he was assembling teams that spied, stole, and smeared on
behalf of presidential campaigns across Latin America. He wasn’t cheap, but
his services were extensive. For $12,000 a month, a customer hired a crew
that could hack smartphones, spoof and clone Web pages, and send mass
e-mails and texts. The premium package, at $20,000 a month, also included a
full range of digital interception, attack, decryption, and defense. The
jobs were carefully laundered through layers of middlemen and consultants.
Sepúlveda says many of the candidates he helped might not even have known
about his role; he says he met only a few.

His teams worked on presidential elections in Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras,
El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Venezuela.
Campaigns mentioned in this story were contacted through former and current
spokespeople; none but Mexico’s PRI and the campaign of Guatemala’s National
Advancement Party would comment.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12> chicanery


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81410> “Dead cat at heart of Florida
election controversy”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81410> April 1, 2016 4:36 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/florida/2016/04/8595443/dead-cat-hear
t-florida-election-controversy> Marc Caputo:

Gracey Duncan seemed to be the type of Floridian a nonprofit
voter-registration group wanted to get on the rolls to start participating
in elections.

But two problems stood in the way: Gracey is a cat. And she’s dead.

“Why is my (dead)cat getting #voterregistration apps? This is #2,” Gracey’s
confused former owner, Julie Duncan, asked her local election supervisor
<https://twitter.com/MikeErtel/status/715289305795661824> via Twitter.

The easy answer to Duncan’s question is that a database mix-up or mismatch
led the nonprofit Voter Participation Center to think “Gracey Duncan” was
the type of person — a minority or single woman — the liberal-leaning group
wants to register ahead of the presidential election.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> election administration


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81408> “Trump’s uphill delegate scramble”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81408> April 1, 2016 4:32 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/trumps-uphill-delegate-scramble-22144
3> Politico:

If Donald Trump loses in Wisconsin next week, he will need to win roughly 60
percent of the remaining delegates to win the Republican presidential
nomination outright — a daunting but not impossible challenge.
But if he fails to achieve it, and is thus unable to win the nomination
outright, Trump is poised to suffer an exodus of delegates at a contested
convention.
Story Continued Below

Interviews with dozens of delegates, delegate candidates, operatives and
party leaders in recent days suggest that more than a hundred delegates —
bound by rules and laws to back Trump on a first vote at the July convention
in Cleveland — are prepared to break with him on a second ballot.

 



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25> political parties,
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32> primaries


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81406> “Trump: I Will Take Office if I Win
the Popular Vote, Even If I Lose Electoral College”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81406> April 1, 2016 4:29 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ> AP:

A defiant Donald Trump, speaking at
<https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#
q=dave%20weigel> a rally Wednesday in Waukesha, Wisconsin, slammed the
undemocratic nature of Electoral College, which awards presidential electors
by state, and promised to take office if he wins the overall popular vote
for president even if Congress declares someone else the winner..

“I’ve said before that I’m willing to abide by the rules for choosing the
president if they are fair. But the idea that I could get more votes than
Hillary Clinton and still lose the presidency is ridiculous. I’ll only play
fair if the Congress plays fair in choosing a president,” the candidate
declared.

Trump said he had asked his controversial campaign manager, Corey
Lewandowski, to devise a plan for seizing power in the event that Congress
declares Clinton the winner if she receives the most electoral votes.
“Corey’s got some really good ideas about what we need to do and how we need
to do it. Nothing is off the table. Believe me,” Trump said, “you’ve never
seen anything like it.”

 



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> campaigns,
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44> electoral college


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81404> “Outraged by Kansas Justices’
Rulings, G.O.P. Seeks to Reshape Court”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81404> April 1, 2016 4:16 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/us/outraged-by-kansas-justices-rulings-go
p-seeks-to-reshape-court.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0> Must-read Erik Eckholm
NYT:

Partisan conflict over courts has erupted in many of the 38 states where
justices are either directly elected or, as in Kansas, face periodic
retention elections, without an opposing candidate. As conservatives in
Washington attempt to preserve a majority on the federal Supreme Court,
politically ascendant conservatives in several states are seeking to reshape
courts that they consider to be overly liberal vestiges of eras past.

“We’ve seen this tug of war between courts and political branches all around
the country,” said Alicia Bannon, a senior counsel at the
<https://www.brennancenter.org/> Brennan Center for Justice at New York
University.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> campaigns,
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19> judicial elections


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81402> “Trump’s Threat on Pledge Could Cost
Him South Carolina Delegates”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81402> April 1, 2016 4:11 am by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://time.com/4278295/donald-trump-loyalty-pledge-south-carolina-delegate
s/> TIME:

Donald Trump’s announcement that he no longer stands by a pledge to support
the GOP has thrown his hold on South Carolina’s 50 delegates in doubt.

The Palmetto State was one of several that required candidates to pledge
their loyalty to the party’s eventual nominee in order to secure a slot on
the primary ballot. Though Trump
<http://time.com/4231631/south-carolina-primary-results-republican-donald-tr
ump-ted-cruz-marco-rubio-jeb-bush/> won all of the state’s delegates in the
Feb. 20 primary, anti-Trump forces are plotting to contest their binding to
Trump because of his threat on the pledge Tuesday.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> campaigns,
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25> political parties,
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32> primaries


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81400> “Casting Votes, Counting Votes for
Election 2016: Democracy and Law in Action”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81400> March 31, 2016 7:59 pm by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

I’ll be attending  <http://law.wisc.edu/ils/2016votingrights/index.html>
this conference at Wisconsin Law Friday and Saturday, with Pam Karlan as the
keynote.

I’ll be presenting Softening Voter ID Laws Through Litigation: Is it Enough?
( <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80636> draft in progress, Mar. 2016)

 



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> Uncategorized


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81398> “Cruz predicts Trump won’t be able to
mount a third-party run”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81398> March 31, 2016 7:24 pm by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/201
6/03/ted-cruz-trump-no-third-party-221425#ixzz44WHQH5L1> Politico:

Donald Trump won’t be able to mount a third-party bid for president if he
loses the Republican nomination, Ted Cruz said Thursday.

“He doesn’t have the option of running as a third-party [candidate],” the
Texas senator told Wisconsin radio host Charlie Sykes. “Quite a few states
across the country have what are called sore-loser laws, that once you run
as a Republican and lose, you don’t get to then turn around and file on the
ballot as an independent, so that will not be an option available to him.”

Michael Kang has written
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1809970> a key paper on
sore loser laws. Some may not apply to presidential elections, and there may
be some constitutional issues with such laws as well.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> campaigns


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81396> “Constitution Check: Is Ted Cruz’s
eligibility for the presidency a serious issue?”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81396> March 31, 2016 7:21 pm by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/03/constitution-check-is-ted-cruzs-
eligibility-for-the-presidency-a-serious-issue/> Lyle Denniston:

One of the reasons that the issue continues to linger uncertainly as a
constitutional matter is that there have been serious barriers to a ruling
that courts have not been able to get past.  One is whether anyone can claim
a sufficient legal injury from an ineligible presidential candidacy, to
satisfy Article III’s limits on federal courts’ power to decide.  Another is
that the question is often treated as a “political question,” beyond the
authority of the courts because its resolution is lodged with the Electoral
College and with Congress.  Another is that the issue usually does not get
explored fully before the issue goes away as legally moot because the
candidate either did not get a party nomination, or lost an election.

So far, none of the cases involving the Ted Cruz candidacy has resulted in a
final ruling, one way or the other, in state or federal courts.   If the
Texas senator does not win the GOP nomination, then, of course, the issue
will fade away again.  But that is not to suggest that it is not a serious
constitutional question that could use an answer – some day.   In the
meantime, the voters will be the ones who decide.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> campaigns


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81394> Law Prof Victor Williams, a Write-In
Candidate in 9 States, Challenges Cruz Eligibility


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81394> March 31, 2016 6:39 pm by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 <http://victorwilliamsforpresident.com/> Details.

Williams and others lost a suit today
<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/cruz-wins-citizenship-case-pennsyl
vania-supreme-court-38059265> challenging Ted Cruz’s eligibility to be on
the Pa ballot.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> Uncategorized


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81392> “A $200,000 Ballot Error and Other
Misprints at New York City’s Board of Elections”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81392> March 31, 2016 6:33 pm by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/nyregion/a-200000-ballot-error-and-other-
misprints-at-new-york-citys-board-of-elections.html?ref=politics&_r=0> NYT:

The New York City Board of Elections has a proofreading problem — and even
small mistakes are turning out to be costly.

The board was forced to spend more than $200,000 in overnight postage last
month to send corrected absentee ballots for the coming presidential
primary, after it discovered an error in the Spanish version of the ballot.

The mistake was discovered around the same time the board realized it had
made another error: A recent notice sent to 60,000 newly registered voters
included the wrong date for a Sept. 13 primary election for state and local
offices. The board then mailed out a correction that may have inadvertently
confused voters about the date of the higher-profile presidential primary on
April 19.



Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> election administration


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81390> “Arizona Becomes Ground Zero in Fight
Over Secret Political Spending”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81390> March 31, 2016 6:29 pm by
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 
<http://prospect.org/article/arizona-becomes-ground-zero-fight-over-secret-p
olitical-spending> Justin Miller reports for TAP.



Posted in


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