[EL] ELB News and Commentary 9/26/18

Tue Sep 25 20:26:28 PDT 2018

“Tom Steyer to Spend Millions Backing Andrew Gillum in Florida”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101289>
Posted on September 25, 2018 8:20 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101289> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/us/politics/andrew-gillum-donations-steyer.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront>

Tom Steyer, the billionaire investor and Democratic activist, has directed his political operation to spend more than $5 million aiding Andrew Gillum’s campaign<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/us/politics/andrew-gillum-florida-governor.html> for governor of Florida, an enormous investment that will test whether fired-up Democratic voters can flip control of a state long dominated by Republicans.

The campaign between Mr. Gillum, who is the progressive mayor of Tallahassee, and Representative Ron DeSantis<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/us/politics/florida-governor-election.html>, a conservative lawmaker who has aligned himself closely with the White House, has become one of the clearest contests of strength<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/us/politics/florida-arizona-election-results.html> nationwide between the Democratic Party’s rising liberal wing and the Republican Party as President Trump has reshaped it.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Plutocrats United<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=104>

John Gore Will Get Deposed in Census Suit<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101287>
Posted on September 25, 2018 2:25 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101287> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
[View image on Twitter]<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick/status/1044696909057847296/photo/1>[View image on Twitter]<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick/status/1044696909057847296/photo/1>
[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1004811682298957824/byz7hgEc_bigger.jpg]<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick>
<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick>
Amy Spitalnick<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick>
✔@amyspitalnick<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick>

<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick/status/1044696909057847296>

The Second Circuit just denied the Trump admin’s mandamus petition in @NewYorkStateAG<https://twitter.com/NewYorkStateAG>’s #2020Census<https://twitter.com/hashtag/2020Census?src=hash> suit. We are also able to move forward with our deposition of Acting Assistant AG John Gore.
2:15 PM - Sep 25, 2018<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick/status/1044696909057847296>

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78<https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1044696909057847296>

·         <https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick/status/1044696909057847296>

48 people are talking about this<https://twitter.com/amyspitalnick/status/1044696909057847296>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Drawing the Line on Gerrymandering: Where Do the Courts Go From Here?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101284>
Posted on September 25, 2018 2:00 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101284> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I’m very much looking forward to participating in this Federal Bar Association lunchtime event<https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Gerrymandering-MCLE-10.23.18.pdf> in Riverside, California with Doug Johnson on October 23.

Link with RSVP info.<https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Gerrymandering-MCLE-10.23.18.pdf>

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Posted in redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“Helping citizens unite in post-Citizens United America”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101281>
Posted on September 25, 2018 1:28 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=101281> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Adam Bonica and Gisel Kordestani oped i<https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/408210-helping-citizens-unite-in-post-citizens-united-america>n The Hill:

We at Crowdpac are among the 78 percent of Americans who want to see Citizens United overturned. We are well aware that if Crowdpac’s conditional fundraising platform is challenged in court, it would likely force the courts to revisit the narrow conception of corruption that has allowed big money to dominate our politics. We would welcome a ruling that conditional crowdfunding campaigns are unconstitutional because that would mean money is, in fact, not a form of speech and that Super PACs and dark money are not protected by the First Amendment. To channel President Obama, a prominent critic of Citizens United: How hard can that be, to say that money is money?

The alternative would be to rule that when average citizens use money in this way to pressure politicians it is corrupt, but when billionaires and corporations do it they are merely exercising their First Amendment rights. Such a ruling would be disastrously unpopular and would do deep and lasting damage to the Court’s legitimacy.

Ultimately, we believe the health of our democracy would be best served if money could not be used to pressure politicians. Even if we believe this type of pressure ought to be illegal, that does not change the reality that it is currently within the law. We see no reason to deny small donors the tools they need to fight back.

And so we stand united with 50,000 and counting of our fellow citizens—in equal parts defiance and hopeful anticipation—to ask our leaders in Washington: What are you going to do about it?
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

--
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
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>
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