Voter Blog
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Jun19
Tester, Udall Roll Out Constitutional Amendments to Allow Campaign-Finance Regulation
This week Senator Joe Tester of Montana introduced a proposal for a constitutional amendment to restrict corporate campaign spending. Last year over 75 percent of Montanans voted to pass a ballot measure urging their congressional delegation to support such a move. Tester's bill is just one of several that seek to restrict spending on campaign in the aftermath of recent court decisions weakening prior laws.
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Jun19
Fair Elections Protestors in NY Stage Sit-In at Sen. Jeff Klein's Office
Twenty-one people were arrested on Tuesday after they blocked entrances to the office of New York State Senator Jeff Klein's office and decried the obstruction of campaign finance legislation that would restrict the role of big money in state politics.
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Jun19
Clips Round-Up for 6/19/13
NYT editorial this morning: "With so little to show for the 2013 session, legislators should not even be thinking about leaving town. And Gov.
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Jun18
Clips Round-Up for 6/18/13
Daily Clips | June 18, 2013
In DC? In Union Station today Ben Cohen will be at the Ben & Jerry's store to "hand out dollar bills stamped with phrases like 'Stamp Money Out Of Politics' in an attempt to raise awareness of money's influence on the electoral process.
Jun17North Carolina Mega Donor Single-handedly Kills Judicial Public Financing
North Carolina has been in the news a lot recently due to the state legislature taking extreme actions on scores of issues, most notably voting rights. But the latest example shows how one billionaire, Art Pope, can weild enormous influence, and single-handedly kill the states' successful and popular judicial public financing system.
On Friday, Chris Hayes of MSNBC ran a segment on North Carolina, and Art Pope's infleunce. Check it out here:
Jun17Jun14Iowa Court Upholds Key Rules on Political Spending
On Thursday, a federal appeals court in Iowa upheld key provisions of the state's campaign finance law. While the new ruling restricts the reporting requirements for organizations whose activity is not primarily political, it preserved bans on corporate donations. These statutes in particular are crucial for protecting the integrity of elections and empowering voters.
Jun14State Supreme Court Elections See Rise in Outside Money
At least one third of spending by independent groups in high-profile state supreme court elections comes from out-of-state groups, according to new analysis by the Center for Public Integrity. CPI analyzed $11.7 million spent by independent groups in 10 prominent 2012 and 2013 races and found that most of the outside money came from Washington, D.C.-based organizations. This money likely tipped the outcome in races in North Carolina, Iowa, and Mississippi.
Jun14Jun13If Section 5 Falls: New Voting Implications
A new report published by the Brennan Center For Justice analyses the implications for voter's rights if the Supreme Court takes the unprecedented step of striking down section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The statute in question in the case before the court in the case Shelby County v. Holder, has been a critical tool in preventing voting discrimination in areas where this has historically been a problem.