Money in politics has always been a touchy issue. From McCain-Feingold to Citizen’s United, the battle to balance respect for free speech with the legitimate threat of corruption and undue influence has been a divisive one. Solutions that have been proposed range from having publicly financed elections to removing all restrictions on donations have been proposed. This section addresses money, elections, and the unavoidable relationship between the two.
The campaign season is over and the next round is still a year away. However, legislators never really stop being a candidate and the California political fundraising machine is already running.
The imposing debate facing campaign finance reformers in the post-Citizens United landscape may ultimately come down to answering the question, “What does ‘independent’ really mean?” Is it possible for PACs to spend millions of dollars towards electing a stated candidate with no coordination whatsoever between the two?
Since 2010, a growing number of local propositions and resolutions have passed in a largely symbolic effort to override portions of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v FEC and Buckley v Valeo.
Debra Bowen, California’s secretary of state, has come under scrutiny for the state’s archaic disclosure process for campaign finance reporting in California. Currently, records are available on the secretary of state’s website…
Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced the “Follow the Money Act” on Tuesday. Wyden has been an adamant campaign finance reformer…
Second only to Mitt Romney’s ‘Big Bird’ slam during the presidential debates, Marco Rubio’s ‘Water Bottle-Gate’ exploded into the public psyche. Nonetheless, Rubio’s faux pas during the Republican response to the State of the Union address…
Since its introduction in December, SB 52 is slowly but surely gaining support throughout the state. State Senators Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) introduced the California DISCLOSE Act in December.
