Subject: [EL] SCOTUS study
From: Jeff Patch
Date: 10/17/2010, 11:58 AM
To: rick hasen <rick.hasen@lls.edu>, Election Law <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>

Does anyone mind sharing this study referenced in the Los Angeles Times [Rick references below]? I couldn't find it with a quick Google search.

58 percent (to 40 percent) is a substantial shift from the supposed 80 percent of people opposed to the decision according to a poll a few months ago in The Washington Post. Perhaps Americans have not viewed the aftermath in the same Chicken Little fashion as many prognosticators in the reform community (Before—and right after—the decision, many wailed about ExxonMobil spending billions of dollars on direct attack ads). Or perhaps the most cited poll on Citizens United wasn't really all that accurate in the first place.

In any event, I'd still note that a question asking whether "corporations ought to be able to spend their profits on TV advertisements urging voters to vote for or against candidates" is not really a fair representation of the Court's decision. The decision was about an advocacy group (organized as a corporation) and also impacted labor unions. A large chunk of respondents, most of whom I'd argue are unfamiliar with Citizens United, probably thought the Court's ruling was only about business corporations. I recall Rick saying something to the effect of polling on solely the business corporation question is appropriate because that's what people are most concerned about. I find it really hard to believe, though, that framing the question in such a way does not skew the results of the poll.

Jeff Patch

-----Original Message-----
From: "Rick Hasen" <rick.hasen@lls.edu>
Sent 10/17/2010 1:01:23 PM
To: "Election Law" <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>
Subject: [EL] Electionlawblog news and commentary 10/17/10

"In court of public opinion, U.S. justices mostly get it right"

The LA Times offers this report about the survey research of Nate Persily and Steve Ansolabehere. A notable exception to the trend in the headline: "The campaign finance decision in January 'is very out of step with public opinion,' Persily said. In the Citizens United case, the court struck down a federal law that barred corporations or unions from spending money to support or oppose candidates for office. The respondents not only opposed the decision, but 85% of them said corporations should be required to get the approval of their shareholders before spending money on political campaigns."

Posted by Rick Hasen at 07:06 PM