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Articles 271 - 300 of 370

Full-Text Articles in Election Law

Politics At Work After Citizens United, Ruben J. Garcia Jan 2016

Politics At Work After Citizens United, Ruben J. Garcia

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

There are seismic changes going on in the political system. The United States Supreme Court has constitutionalized the concentration of political power in the “one percent” in several recent decisions, including Citizens United v. FEC. At the same time, unions are representing a shrinking share of the workforce, and their political power is also being diminished. In order for unions to recalibrate the balance of political power at all, they must collaborate with grassroots community groups, as they have done in several recent campaigns. There are, however, various legal structures that make coordination between unions and nonunion groups difficult, …


Don’T Tread On Me…Online: The Fec Should Stay Out Of Free Internet-Based Political Speech, Timothy J. D’Elia Dec 2015

Don’T Tread On Me…Online: The Fec Should Stay Out Of Free Internet-Based Political Speech, Timothy J. D’Elia

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.


A Quantum Congress, Jorge R. Roig Apr 2015

A Quantum Congress, Jorge R. Roig

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This article tries to address the problem of a corrupt and broken electoral system that has been captured by special interests through big money spending in political campaigns, while at the same time preserving the spirit of the Free Speech Clause of our Constitution. In doing so, this article first reviews and summarizes the different alternatives proposed as potential fixes for the campaign finance problem. It then explains why none of the proposed alternatives can accomplish the dual goals set out above. Finally, the article briefly sketches a proposal for a fundamental reworking of our representative democracy by substituting legislative …


"The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself": The Constitutional Infirmities With Felon Disenfranchisement And Citing Fear As The Rationale For Depriving Felons Of Their Right To Vote, Erika Stern Apr 2015

"The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself": The Constitutional Infirmities With Felon Disenfranchisement And Citing Fear As The Rationale For Depriving Felons Of Their Right To Vote, Erika Stern

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Felon disenfranchisement, a mechanism by which felons and former felons are deprived of their right to vote, is a widespread practice that has been challenged on many grounds. However, felon disenfranchisement has not yet been properly challenged under the First Amendment. This Article argues that states implicate felons’ First Amendment rights through felon disenfranchisement without citing adequate or compelling rationales to justify this severe intrusion. In fact, at least one rationale, a rationale based on the fear of the way felons might vote, is itself inconsistent with First Amendment principles. Disenfranchising felons based on a fear of the way that …


When Rhetoric Obscures Reality: The Definition Of Corruption And Its Shortcomings, Jessica Medina Apr 2015

When Rhetoric Obscures Reality: The Definition Of Corruption And Its Shortcomings, Jessica Medina

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Due to public scorn after the unraveling of the Watergate scandal, the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of the Federal Election Campaign Act’s restrictions on political contributions and expenditures. Buckley v. Valeo established that no legitimate government interest existed to justify restrictions on campaign expenditures, and only the prevention of corruption or the appearance of corruption could justify restrictions on campaign contributions. Since then, the Court has struggled to articulate a definition of corruption that balances First Amendment protections with the potential for improper influence. This Article argues that the Court’s current definition of corruption is too narrow, and proposes …


In All Fairness: Using Political Broadcast Access Doctrine To Tailor Public Campaign Fund Matching, Andrew V. Moshirnia, Aaron T. Dozeman Apr 2015

In All Fairness: Using Political Broadcast Access Doctrine To Tailor Public Campaign Fund Matching, Andrew V. Moshirnia, Aaron T. Dozeman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Recent United States Supreme Court decisions have undermined the viability of campaign public financing systems, a vital tool for fighting political corruption. First, Citizens United v. FEC allowed privately financed candidates and independent groups to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigning. Publicly financed candidates now risk being vastly outspent. Second, Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom PAC v. Bennett invalidated a proportional fund matching system whereby privately financed candidates’ or independent groups’ spending triggered funds to publicly funded candidates. These decisions effectuate a libertarian speech doctrine: all speakers, individual or corporate, must be absolutely unburdened. To comply with this approach, …


Paths Of Resistance To Our Imperial First Amendment, Bertrall L. Ross Ii Apr 2015

Paths Of Resistance To Our Imperial First Amendment, Bertrall L. Ross Ii

Michigan Law Review

In the campaign finance realm, we are in the age of the imperial First Amendment. Over the past nine years, litigants bringing First Amendment claims against campaign finance regulations have prevailed in every case in the Supreme Court. A conservative core of five justices has developed virtually categorical protections for campaign speech and has continued to expand those protections into domains that states once had the authority to regulate. As the First Amendment’s empire expands, other values give way. Four key cases from this era illustrate the reach of this imperial First Amendment. In Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. …


The Ceo And The Hydraulics Of Campaign Finance Deregulation, Sarah C. Haan Mar 2015

The Ceo And The Hydraulics Of Campaign Finance Deregulation, Sarah C. Haan

Northwestern University Law Review

Voters increasingly view their consumer activities, not their campaign contributions, as the most meaningful way to participate in politics. In 2014, after it became public that Mozilla’s CEO, Brendan Eich, had made a controversial political donation in a state ballot proposition, consumer pressure led to his resignation. Eich’s downfall and the politicization of retail markets means that business leaders are unlikely to respond to McCutcheon v. FEC by embracing transparency with their campaign donations, and also suggests that campaign finance deregulation is causing hydraulic effects that the Supreme Court has failed to anticipate. This Essay explores what “economic reprisal” means …


What's At Stake?: Bluman V. Federal Election Commission And The Incompatibility Of The Stake-Based Immigration Plenary Power And Freedom Of Speech, Alyssa Markenson Mar 2015

What's At Stake?: Bluman V. Federal Election Commission And The Incompatibility Of The Stake-Based Immigration Plenary Power And Freedom Of Speech, Alyssa Markenson

Northwestern University Law Review

Section 441e of the U.S. Code prohibits “foreign nationals”—all noncitizens except lawful permanent residents—from making any contribution or expenditure in any federal, state, or local election. In Bluman v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court summarily affirmed a three-judge district court’s decision to uphold the law based on the government’s compelling interest in preventing foreign influence over U.S. elections. Notably, Bluman’s holding was animated by its reasoning that the extent of First Amendment protection should be directly tied to the aliens’ stake in American society—a reflection of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence since the middle of the twentieth century that seeks …


The Jekyll And Hyde Of First Amendment Limits On The Regulation Of Judicial Campaign Speech, Charles G. Geyh Jan 2015

The Jekyll And Hyde Of First Amendment Limits On The Regulation Of Judicial Campaign Speech, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.


Citizens Disunited: Mccutcheon V. Federal Election Commission, Adam Lamparello Jan 2015

Citizens Disunited: Mccutcheon V. Federal Election Commission, Adam Lamparello

Indiana Law Journal

The wealthy are democracy’s darlings, the middle class are its stepchildren, and the poor are its orphans. Corporate giants line the pockets of senatorial candidates—and purchase influence—while average citizens walk into a polling station and cast a largely symbolic vote. Stated simply, money creates a soft inequality by dominating the political process. Like the “soft bigotry of low expectations,”69 the soft inequality embedded in our political system has created a liberty gap between the prosperous and the poor. McCutcheon was an opportunity to bridge this gap. Instead, the Court enshrined the status quo by holding that Congress could only regulate …


A Quantum Congress, Jorge R. Roig Jan 2015

A Quantum Congress, Jorge R. Roig

Scholarly Works

This article tries to address the problem of a corrupt and broken electoral system that has been captured by special interests through big money spending in political campaigns, while at the same time preserving the spirit of the Free Speech Clause of our Constitution. In doing so, this article first reviews and summarizes the different alternatives proposed as potential fixes for the campaign finance problem. It then explains why none of the proposed alternatives can accomplish the dual goals set out above. Finally, the article briefly sketches a proposal for a fundamental reworking of our representative democracy by substituting legislative …


Fighting Foreign-Corporate Political Access: Applying Corporate Veil-Piercing Doctrine To Domestic-Subsidiary Contributions, Ryan Rott Jan 2015

Fighting Foreign-Corporate Political Access: Applying Corporate Veil-Piercing Doctrine To Domestic-Subsidiary Contributions, Ryan Rott

Michigan Law Review

Campaign finance regulations limit speech. The laws preclude foreign nationals, including foreign corporations, from participating in U.S. politics via campaign contributions. The unusual characteristics of corporations, however, may allow foreign corporations to exploit a loophole in the regulatory regime. A foreign corporation may contribute to political campaigns by acquiring a domestic subsidiary and dominating it. This Note addresses how these unusual corporate behaviors enable foreign corporations to illegally corrupt the political process. This Note concludes that to close the loophole without violating the free speech rights of domestic subsidiaries, Congress should enact legislation which would apply corporate veil-piercing theory to …


Mccutcheon V. Federal Election Commission, Stephen M. Degenaro Dec 2014

Mccutcheon V. Federal Election Commission, Stephen M. Degenaro

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission involved a challenge to limits imposed on the amount a donor may contribute during a single election cycle. In McCutcheon, the Court was presented with the question of whether the aggregate limits placed on contributions to candidate and noncandidate committees either lacked a cognizable constitutional interest or were unconstitutionally too low. In a five to four decision, the Supreme Court held that the aggregate limits on campaign contributions burden substantial First Amendment rights without furthering a permissible government interest.


Financing Elections And "Appearance Of Corruption": Citizen Attitudes And Behavior In 2012, Molly J. Walker Wilson Oct 2014

Financing Elections And "Appearance Of Corruption": Citizen Attitudes And Behavior In 2012, Molly J. Walker Wilson

Catholic University Law Review

As political spending reaches new highs in the 2012 election cycle, and as the controversy surrounding wealthy donors and interest groups grows, polls demonstrate a surge of cynicism among Americans who profess a belief that the American political system is corrupt. The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United made possible the most recent expansion of political spending. In this case, the question was whether allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising would result in corruption or the appearance of corruption. The majority on the Court determined that it would not. Many observers have …


Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Petitioners, V. Federal Election Commission, Respondent: Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Dan Backer Sep 2014

Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Petitioners, V. Federal Election Commission, Respondent: Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Dan Backer

Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic

No abstract provided.


Expensive Free Speech: Western Tradition Partnership And The Silencing Of The Private Attorney General Doctrine, Jesse Kodadek Aug 2014

Expensive Free Speech: Western Tradition Partnership And The Silencing Of The Private Attorney General Doctrine, Jesse Kodadek

Montana Law Review

Expensive Free Speech: Western Tradition Partnership And The Silencing Of The Private Attorney General Doctrine


Campaign Finance And Political Gerrymandering Decisions In The October 2005 Term, Burt Neuborne Jun 2014

Campaign Finance And Political Gerrymandering Decisions In The October 2005 Term, Burt Neuborne

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.


Appellate Division, Third Department, Avella V. Batt, Danielle D'Abate May 2014

Appellate Division, Third Department, Avella V. Batt, Danielle D'Abate

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.


Evaluating Candidacy Restrictions: The Implications Of New York's Modified Approach, Brian Hodgkinson Mar 2014

Evaluating Candidacy Restrictions: The Implications Of New York's Modified Approach, Brian Hodgkinson

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.


Unions And Campaign Finance Litigation, Charlotte Garden Mar 2014

Unions And Campaign Finance Litigation, Charlotte Garden

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Citizenship At Work: How The Supreme Court Politically Marginalized Public Employees, Ruben J. Garcia Mar 2014

Citizenship At Work: How The Supreme Court Politically Marginalized Public Employees, Ruben J. Garcia

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.


The Forgotten Law Of Lobbying, Zephyr Teachout Jan 2014

The Forgotten Law Of Lobbying, Zephyr Teachout

Faculty Scholarship

For most of American history, until the 1950s, courts treated paid lobbying as a civic wrong, not a protected First Amendment right. Lobbying was presumptively against public policy, and lobbying contracts were not enforced. Paid lobbying threatened the integrity of individuals, legislators, lobbyists, and the integrity of society as a whole. Some states had laws criminalizing lobbying; Georgia had an anti-lobbying provision in its Constitution. Inasmuch as there was a personal right to either petition the government, or share views with officers of the government, this right was not something one could sell -- it was not, in the term …


State Session Freeze Laws—Potential Solution Or Unconstitutional Restriction?, Dru Swaim Nov 2013

State Session Freeze Laws—Potential Solution Or Unconstitutional Restriction?, Dru Swaim

Seattle University Law Review

Since the Citizens United decision in 2010 reduced Congress’s ability to constitutionally regulate money in elections, proponents of campaign finance reform have looked for alternative ways to achieve the goals of greater transparency and reduce the amount of money spent in federal elections. In the three years since Citizens United, the amount of money spent in federal campaigns has increased exponentially. In fact, the total amount of money spent in federal elections has nearly doubled since 2000. Citizens United represents a serious blow to the traditional methods used to restrict the amount of money in politics: limitations on the amounts …


Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Appellants, V. Federal Election Commission, Appellee: Reply Brief Of Appellants, Dan Backer, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Tara A. Brennan Jun 2013

Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Appellants, V. Federal Election Commission, Appellee: Reply Brief Of Appellants, Dan Backer, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Tara A. Brennan

Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic

No abstract provided.


Section 501(C)(4) Advocacy Organizations: Political Candidate-Related And Other Partisan Activities In Furtherance Of The Social Welfare, Terence Dougherty May 2013

Section 501(C)(4) Advocacy Organizations: Political Candidate-Related And Other Partisan Activities In Furtherance Of The Social Welfare, Terence Dougherty

Seattle University Law Review

In the wake of the 2012 presidential election, tax and political law lawyers are left with a number of unanswered questions concerning the political activities of tax-exempt organizations. Despite the importance of these questions, there are striking gaps in the authority of federal tax law governing the conduct of political candidate and other partisan-related activities by tax-exempt organizations. Assuming activities in furtherance of partisan interests are activities that support private interests, I consider what this authority may tell us about the permissibility of Section 501(c)(4) organizations engaging in partisan political activities and having as a constitutive purpose a partisan political …


Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Appellants, V. Federal Election Commission, Appellee: Brief Of Appellants, Dan Backer, Patricia E. Roberts, Jessica L. Delaney, Bryan U. Gividen, Tillman J. Breckenridge Apr 2013

Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Appellants, V. Federal Election Commission, Appellee: Brief Of Appellants, Dan Backer, Patricia E. Roberts, Jessica L. Delaney, Bryan U. Gividen, Tillman J. Breckenridge

Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic

No abstract provided.


Consider The Source: A Note On Public-Sector Union Expenditure Restrictions Upheld In Davenport V. Washington Education Association, Daniel A. Himebaugh Apr 2013

Consider The Source: A Note On Public-Sector Union Expenditure Restrictions Upheld In Davenport V. Washington Education Association, Daniel A. Himebaugh

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


Citizens United: A World Of Full Disclosure, Maxfield Marquardt Mar 2013

Citizens United: A World Of Full Disclosure, Maxfield Marquardt

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


Buying The Electorate: An Empirical Study Of The Current Campaign Finance Landscape And How The Supreme Court Erred In Not Revisiting Citizens United, William Alan Nelson Ii Jan 2013

Buying The Electorate: An Empirical Study Of The Current Campaign Finance Landscape And How The Supreme Court Erred In Not Revisiting Citizens United, William Alan Nelson Ii

Cleveland State Law Review

The Article discusses how the Supreme Court erred by summarily reversing the Montana Supreme Court’s decision in Western Tradition Partnership v. AG and not revisiting its holding in Citizens United v. FEC. The Article begins by discussing the holding in the Western Tradition Partnership case and analyzing both the majority and dissenting opinions. The Article then analyzes how the Montana Supreme Court distinguished Citizens United, with the Court specifically looking at the “unique” political history in Montana and finding that Montana’s ban on corporate independent political spending served a compelling state interest and was narrowly tailored to that interest. The …