Tues. political law links

TRUST VOTERS ON CFR.  The Hill.  “It’s time for those who oppose limiting money in politics to drop this dishonest and unconstitutional argument, and for the rest of us to demand that our state and federal legislators get serious about restoring sanity to our political system.”

CFR AFTER CU.  Harvard Political Review.  “As the weather turns colder and the leaves begin to burn bright red and yellow, we are reminded of the many joys of the fall season: delicious apples, Halloween, and the incessant political ads that plague our airwaves.”

LIBERALS IN THE GAME.  WFB.  “Liberal billionaires are leaving conservatives in the dust when it comes to Super PAC spending during the 2014 election cycle, according to an analysis by the Sunlight Foundation.”

CA:  DONOR AND THE SYSTEM.  LAT.  “In the state Senate race for California’s 26th District — a spirited contest that features two Democrats, Ben Allen and Sandra Fluke — a single donor has spent more than $1 million trying to elect Allen.”

MI:  PARTY DONATION.  MILive.  “Michigan Senate Republicans have assisted state Rep. Margaret O’Brien in her bid to join their ranks by contributing nearly $500,000 to her campaign during the latest election period, campaign finance reports show.”

MT:  SUPPORT FOR MOTL.  Missoulian.  “With each case closed, Motl is providing further proof that he deserves confirmation by the Montana Senate in 2015.”

NY:  PUBLIC FINANCING TIP.  Dailyjournal.net.  “The test of public campaign financing in the New York comptroller race has proved ineffective, with the incumbent declining to participate and the challenger falling short of the thresholds that would parlay his $200,000 into $1.2 million.”

CAN:  NO RULES.  CBC.  “There is no requirement on P.E.I. for municipal election candidates to disclose who has donated to their campaign, and no limit on spending.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Mon. political law links

KOCH DISCLOSURE.  Roll Call.  “Charles and David Koch are best known for their big political spending, but public records show the billionaire industrialists have also invested close to $10 million on lobbying Congress this year, targeting such issues as carbon taxes, renewable fuel standards, greenhouse gas restrictions and campaign financing.”

NON-CITIZENS VOTE.  NRO.  “Is it really that a significant number of illegal immigrants now have a fake photo ID that looks realistic enough to fool voter registration and ballot box authorities?”

LOOK WHO’S VOTING.  WP.  “Could control of the Senate in 2014 be decided by illegal votes cast by non-citizens?”

ALLEGED VOTER FRAUD ON TAPE.  DC.  “A Republican party official in the largest county in Arizona says surveillance tape shows a progressive Hispanic activist blatantly and openly engaging in vote fraud.”

UNDERCOVER ALLEGED VOTER FRAUD VIDEO.  WT.  “A Project Veritas undercover video released Wednesday shows pro-Democrat field workers in Colorado discussing ways to commit voter fraud under the state’s new all-mail election system.”

INTERNET CONTROL.  WT.  “The FEC deadlocked in a crucial Internet campaign speech vote announced Friday, leaving online political blogging and videos free of many of the reporting requirements attached to broadcast ads — for now.”

KINGSTON IN SUPER PAC ENDORSEMENT.  AJC.  “Ending Spending Action Fund has thrown down $1.3 million for a closing television ad campaign featuring Republican David Perdue’s vanquished runoff foe, Rep. Jack Kingston.”

ADELSON GIVES.  USAT.  “Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson made his first big super PAC donation of the midterm elections this month — giving $5 million to the main political action committee aiding House Republicans, documents provided Thursday to USA TODAY show.”

SENATE FILINGS. WT. “Each report can contain thousands of pages of listed donors and expenditures that workers must manually scan into the system, one by one.”

FILING DISCLOSURE. WFB. “Tim Miller, the executive director of Republican research firm America Rising, claims Democratic candidates are trying to bog down the FEC with unnecessarily long filings in order to prevent scrutiny of their donors.”

CO:  HOW IT WENT BLUE.  Newsmax.  “A new documentary produced by Citizens United and hosted by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin says that a secretive group of wealthy left-leaning activists met behind closed doors to take over the once-red state of Colorado, all the while publicly calling for ‘transparency’ in elections.”

KS:  YARD SIGN WARNING.  WIBW.  “The City of Topeka wants to make sure the temporary signs in your yard aren’t breaking any laws. On Friday, it issued a reminder that you’re only allowed to have one sign per event on your property.”

MT:  SUSPENSION REJECTED.  Missoulian.  “A federal judge has rejected an effort by a Helena-based nonprofit group to prevent the state from enforcing its campaign-finance laws in the weeks before the election.”

OH:  HOMEOWNERS FIGHT YARD SIGNS.   USAT.  “‘Signs are not allowed in our yards except as when used to advertise a home for sale,’ LeAnn Burke, who lives down the street from Tyszkiewicz, wrote in an e-mail to the House candidate Friday on behalf of the HOA.”

WA:  STEALING YARD SIGNS.  Seattle Times.  “A former Bellevue City Council member once called the city’s ‘last liberal’ could be charged with stealing yard signs in a duel over competing gun-background-check initiatives.”

WI:  CANDIDATES SPAR.  Journal Sentinel.  “The candidates for attorney general differed sharply in a debate Friday over the state’s campaign finance regulations, with Democrat Susan Happ backing them and Republican Brad Schimel saying he disagreed with how the state elections agency has written them.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Political law links

YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. Inside Political Law. “Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau issued an advisory reminding political campaigns about the restrictions placed on the use of autodialed calls, prerecorded calls, and text messages by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (‘TCPA’) and the FCC’s corresponding rules.”

IRS LAWSUIT UPDATE. The Hill. “A federal judge sided with the IRS on Thursday, tossing out two lawsuits filed against the tax agency over its improper scrutiny of Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status.”

AND THE FIRST CAMPAIGN TO ACCEPT APPLE PAY IS? Apple.

CALLS ANSWERED” HuffPo. “This infusion has finally pushed spending by pro-Republican nonparty groups past the totals reported to the Federal Election Commission by similar Democratic Party groups.”

FORMER AIDES SUPER PAC. Argus Leader. “U.S. Senate candidate Larry Pressler is finally getting some outside support — from his former Senate aides.”

TOP LOBBYISTS. The Hill. “From corner offices all over town, the members of The Hill’s Top Lobbyists list are the advocates, lobbyists and professional agitators who shape the policy decisions made in the nation’s capital.”

ROBERT TIERNAN, 85. WP. “Robert O. Tiernan, a lawyer and stalwart of Rhode Island Democratic politics who served four terms in the U.S. House and became one of the original members of the Federal Election Commission, died Oct. 15 in Providence.”

HI: SUPER PAC COMPLAINT. HI News Now. “A Hawaii Super PAC is facing a complaint that it failed to report spending more than $86,000 on fliers in the 2012 elections.”

MA: RULING AFTER ELECTION. Boston Globe. “The New Jersey state treasurer’s office said Tuesday it will not make public its review of the legality of GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker’s controversial donation to Governor Chris Christie’s state party until after the Massachusetts gubernatorial election.”

RI: SCHILLING HEARING. Prov. Journal. “The inquiry into whether ex-Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling violated Rhode Island’s lobbying laws appears headed for a close on Friday, Oct. 31 — yes, Halloween.”

SC: PLEA DEAL. NYT. “The suspended speaker of the South Carolina House, Robert W. Harrell Jr., avoided prison but lost the legislative seat he has held for more than 20 years after he pleaded guilty Thursday to six campaign finance violations.”

VT: ISSUES FOR GROUP. Watchdog.org. “According to complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Office over the past two months, Vermont Leads Inc., a prominent advocate of single-payer health care, received a $66,000 donation in March from the Vermont NEA, the teachers union whose membership dues typically go to left-leaning causes.”

WA: MOST MEALS. Bellingham Herald. “After topping a list of legislators who received free meals, drinks and golf games from lobbyists last year, Whatcom County Sen. Doug Ericksen has accepted at least 50 meals and other goods from lobbyists in 2014, according to reports submitted to the state.”

WI: QUESTION CONFUSION. WISN. “The question reads, ‘Only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and money is not speech, therefore, regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.'”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.