electioneering communications

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress.  Envisioned as a “transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package,” the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election…
Continue Reading Understanding H.R. 1 (Part 3): Political Activity on the Internet

Last year, we blogged about a new and highly restrictive disclosure law in New Jersey that took aim at so-called “dark money” spending by nonprofit and political organizations.  In response to a series of lawsuits, a federal court has issued an order permanently prohibiting the state from enforcing the law…
Continue Reading New Jersey “Dark Money” Disclosure Law Permanently Enjoined

In a rare case, a so-called “dark money” group has now publicly released the names of its donors.  Under federal law, if an organization has as its “major purpose” the nomination or election of federal candidates, the organization may be a “political committee” required to report its receipts and disbursements…
Continue Reading So-Called “Dark Money” Group Reveals its Donors

As the 2018 mid-term season approaches, viewers may be seeing fewer issue advertisements paid for by so-called “dark money” groups.  In a consequential decision, a federal court in Washington, D.C. concluded yesterday that all “electioneering communications” presumptively count as political spending for purposes of determining whether a group should…
Continue Reading Federal Court Decision Puts Brakes on Issue Ads

In an important decision, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper today ordered the Federal Election Commission to reconsider its dismissal of a complaint filed by CREW against two tax-exempt advocacy organizations that have never registered with the FEC.  CREW alleged that the two groups, American Action Network and Americans for…
Continue Reading Federal Court in D.C. Rules Against FEC in Important Disclosure Case

A U.S. District Court judge today vacated an FEC regulation that limited the degree to which corporations and labor unions must disclose their donors when they pay for an Electioneering Communication.  Van Hollen v. FEC  An Electioneering Communication is a broadcast, cable or satellite communication that features a federal candidate,…
Continue Reading A Pyrrhic Victory? The Impact of Today’s District Court Decision on Electioneering Communications (Van Hollen v. FEC)

On Thursday, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was unable to agree on whether Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. could sponsor a Separate Segregated Fund (a corporate “SSF” or “PAC” in common parlance) that solicited contributions from the employees of its dealers and service centers.  The request resulted in an unsurprising deadlock…
Continue Reading The More Things Change: The FEC and Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.

Twenty House Democrats yesterday introduced proposed legislation that, if enacted in its current form, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to:

  • Require corporations and labor unions which “submit[] regular, periodic reports” to their shareholders and members to include certain detailed information concerning their political spending.  That information

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Continue Reading OPEN Sesame or a Potemkin Village?

Electioneering communications, perhaps unsurprisingly, have reemerged on the airwaves following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s September 18th reversal of a district court decision in Van Hollen v. FEC that required entities paying for electioneering communications to disclose all of their donors.

As we’ve previously noted…
Continue Reading Electioneering Communications Start to Reemerge After D.C. Circuit’s Van Hollen Ruling