Last week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the Democracy for the People Act (DPA), a sweeping new law that substantially changes the state’s campaign finance and voting rules. The DPA establishes a new automatic voter...more
With the final (virtual) balloons dropping on this year’s Democratic and Republican National Committee Conventions, we have reached general election season. Campaigning has a different look and feel this year, but the federal...more
Many decried the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). The California legislature was so upset that it passed a resolution memorializing its disagreement and...more
The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition the government, which includes the right to participate in elections. These protections apply to individuals and businesses involved in paid and unpaid advocacy. ...more
The California legislature was so upset by the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) that it passed a resolution memorializing its disagreement and asseverating that...more
With Election Day less than two weeks away, it’s an interesting time for the First Amendment. Unlike the Second Amendment where party lines appear strong, the 2016 presidential candidates’ stance on First Amendment issues and...more
It is an issue that has been with us since the earliest days of politics: The wealthy tend to have disproportionate influence over our political leaders in contrast to the poor and middle class. In the immortal words of the...more
This is the second post in our California Ballot 2016 series – providing the “nutshell” versions of each of the 17 state-wide measures voters must decide in November. Please refer to our first post in the series: Props 51-56,...more
After Citizens United and its progeny paved the way for independent expenditure activity and unlimited contributions to Independent Expenditure Only committees (better known as Super PACs), one key question in...more
On January 21, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) rule requiring corporations and labor organizations to disclose on an electioneering...more
Political spending disclosure has had an irregular history, waxing and waning over the last decade according to a seminal Supreme Court decision, fluctuating SEC rulemaking and activist shareholder agendas and evolving views...more
It has been five years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. FEC. When the Supreme Court first decided the case, which allows individuals, corporations and special interest groups to spend unlimited...more
Last week, I wrote that Governor Brown had allowed SB 1272 to become law without his signature. To say that SB 1272 became law is an hyperbole because, as Governor Brown observed, the bill “has no legal effect whatsoever”. ...more
I recently wrote about SB 1272 (Lieu) which calls a special election for this November 4 at which California voters will be able to cast an advisory vote on whether the U.S. Constitution should be amended to overturn the U.S....more