[Political Activity Law]

SUPER TURNOUT.   POL.  “The top Republican Senate super PAC invested heavily in get-out-the-vote efforts in eight battleground Senate races this election, fortifying the group’s usual heavy spending on TV ads.”

SMALL DONOR DIFFERENCE.   PS. “This, 2018, is shaping up to be the costliest mid-term election ever, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit that tracks political donations. As of last week, candidates, political parties, PACs, and other groups have spent $4.7 billion, the center finds. Before this, no mid-term had cost more than $4.2 billion.  One of the primary drivers behind this year’s unparalleled fundraising: small donations to Democratic candidates.”

SMALL DONOR ADVANTAGE.   WP.  “Democratic candidates raised more money than Republicans in the 2018 midterms, particularly in small sums under $200. Strategists across the political spectrum point to their breakneck fundraising pace as a sign that the party could be well positioned to take control of the House this year.”

AD OFF.  NYT.  “The guidelines, available online, contain a section for ‘controversial issue advertising,’ which states that ‘advertisements generally will be accepted if there is a basis for the claims and such claims fall within the bounds of reasonable debate.'”

AD PULLED.   EG.  “Facebook confirmed that it has followed in the footsteps of most major media outlets and pulled a controversial advertisement released by the Donald Trump campaign.”

A LOOK.  HILL.  “President Trump said Monday he would ‘take a look’ at the allegations that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke violated ethics rules, but added he has not yet seen the claims, which have been referred to the Justice Department.”

TX:  FUNDING WAR.    SM.  “A political action committee that’s opposing a proposition to require votes on land-use rewrites in Austin delayed the disclosure of its real estate donors until halfway through early voting, Fred Lewis, one of the proposition’s authors, said in an ethics complaint filed Friday.”

WHAT A CYCLE.   Thanks for reading PoliticalActivityLaw.com this election cycle!    It’s been a wild ride of twists and turns in the political law world, from all the latest court decisions to state and federal moves on disclaimers, disclosure, and more!   Just a reminder:  if you prefer to have political law links sent to your email inbox instead of reading on the web, kindly click here to sign up and be sure to reply to the confirmation email.  (Subscription requests are handled automatically by Google’s FeedBurner service; your email address isn’t used for any other purpose.)

HAVE A GOOD DAY AND VOTE!

WHERE THE MONEY’S GOING.   WP.  “Super PACs, party committees and other political groups spent $1 billion through Nov. 2, 2018 on independent advertising and voter contact efforts aimed at influencing the Nov. 6 midterms.”

MIDTERM LOOPHOLE.   ATL.  “Want to influence Tuesday’s midterm election but keep your identity a secret from voters? No problem.”

HICKENLOOPER SCRUTINY.   CI.  “Campaign finance watchdogs believe John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s outgoing governor and a possible 2020 presidential candidate, may have run afoul of Federal Election Commission regulations this week.”

BLOOMBERG BOOST.   WP.  “Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City who is considering a 2020 presidential campaign, took another step closer to that possibility Sunday with a $5 million national advertising effort that encourages voters to support Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections — and offers Bloomberg’s centrist politics as a counter to President Trump.”

2020 SPENDING.   MDC.  “The final votes of the 2018 midterms have yet to be cast, but several Democratic presidential hopefuls have already been spending with the next campaign in mind.”

DE:  COMPLAINT FILED.   DO. “The legality of campaign contributions is once again being challenged with just days left before Tuesday’s election, although the case could be headed for a quick dismissal.”

DC:  BOWSER RESPONDS.   WCP.  “It turns out Mayor Muriel Bowser did not violate D.C. campaign finance laws, as the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen alleged last week.”

ME:  THE MONEY IN MAINE.   ST.  “The battle over who will represent Maine in the largest congressional district east of the Mississippi River is the most expensive political race in state history, leading to more television campaign ads than any other state and underscoring millions of dollars of so-called ‘dark money’ pouring into the race.”

MN:  COMPLAINT FILED.   BP.  “A campaign financial complaint made against a candidate for Bemidji City Council was reviewed by a Minnesota administrative law judge Thursday.”

OH:  STATE RULES.   BJ.  “The Ohio Elections Commission delivered a mixed verdict on Thursday in the case of whether Aftab Pureval’s clerk of courts campaign violated state campaign finance laws, with the commission finding a ‘very small’ violation, according to a lawyer who brought the case.”

TX:  ALLEGATIONS OF HELP.   HILL.  “Sen. Ted Cruz (R) suggested on Friday that staffers working for his opponent in the Texas Senate race, Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D), were using campaign funds to help ‘people coming here illegally.'”

TX:  USE OF FUNDS.   PF.  “Our ruling comes down to perspective. The mailer’s spin seemed a little strong at first, especially knowing that gift purchases, whether for Civil War trinkets or not, are allowable if considered of nominal value.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE ON THE BALLOT.   NPR.  “Voters in more than a dozen states will vote on ballot questions next Tuesday to enact stringent laws on campaign finance and other government ethics issues affecting state and local lawmakers.”

ETHICS SCRUTINY.   TG.  “An ethics watchdog has referred findings of misconduct by the US interior secretary to lawyers at the justice department who will decide whether to pursue a criminal investigation, according to the Washington Post and CNN.”

KY:  GLITCHES IN SYSTEM.   GR.  “A state agency’s software system apparently has glitches that indicate two Scott County legislative candidates’ campaign-finance reports violate state law.”

MI:  COMPLAINT INVOLVES NEWSPAPER.   PN.  “A resident in Hayes Township is asking the state to take action on a formal campaign finance complaint filed against Frank Shepard and Leslie Cunningham — two proponents backing the Hayes Township Board of Trustees recall election on Nov. 6.”

NY:  SUPER PACS SPEND.   TU. “Spending by groups known as super PACs ahead of the November elections for the Assembly, Senate, attorney general and governor was at $8.07 million as of Monday afternoon, according to state Board of Elections records.”

VA:  CONFUSION IN ALEXANDRIA.   AG.  “A major contribution to a School Board candidate’s campaign became known to the public three years late.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.