"Top Companies Aid Chamber of Commerce in Policy Fights"

The NY Times offers this must-read extensive report. A snippet:

These large donations -- none of which were publicly disclosed by the chamber, a tax-exempt group which keeps its donors secret -- offer a glimpse of the chamber's money-raising efforts, which it has ramped up recently in an orchestrated campaign to become one of the most well-financed critics of the Obama administration and an influential player in this fall’s Congressional elections.

They suggest that the recent allegations from President Obama and others that foreign money has ended up in the chamber's coffers miss a larger point: The chamber has had little trouble finding American companies eager to enlist it, anonymously, to fight their political battles and pay handsomely for its help.

And these contributions, some of which can be pieced together through tax filings of corporate foundations and other public records, also show how the chamber has increasingly relied on a relatively small collection of big corporate donors to finance much of its Washington agenda.

"Election Administration 2010: Innovations to watch"

That's the lead story in this week's Electionline Weekly.

Fred Wertheimer as Yoda?

I kid you not.

FELN Publishes Issue Brief on "Mobile Voter Registration"

See here. See also these comments from the organization to the EAC.

"Campaign Finance Reformers Survey the Wreckage"

TIME reports.

"Republicans' secret formula -- 501(c)(4) "

Doyle McManus has written this LA Times column, with the subhead: "Sure, Republicans are exploiting a gap in the law to avoid disclosing their donors. But the real question is how did the Democrats allow themselves to be so badly outfoxed in the big-money competition?"

Too Much Information? Dept.

ADN: "[Alaska] Elections director Gail Fenumiai also said all election officials have been reminded of the proper procedures governing elections, including not displaying a list of write-in candidates."

I understand the names of write-in candidates cannot be displayed if Alaska law says they cannot be. But what kind of rationale could be behind such a law?

"The Tax the Rove Donors Refuse to Pay -- But Democrats Do."

Marc Schmitt blogs.

"Voter mailer labeled misleading"

Latest Democratic mailer not pretty.

-- 
Rick Hasen
William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA  90015-1211
(213)736-1466
(213)380-3769 - fax
rick.hasen@lls.edu
http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org