Elections

National: “Inside the Democratic Party’s Plan to Prevent Vote-by-Mail Disaster” by Zach Montellaro and Elena Schneider for Politico

National: “Focus on Trump’s Official White House Actions as Part of Republican Convention Programming Raises Hatch Act Concerns” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post) for Philadelphia Inquirer

Kansas: “With Teen Staying in Kansas House Race, Democrats Weigh Bad Behavior Against Voter Will” by Jonathan Shorman and Steve Vockrodt for Kansas City Star

Montana: “Supreme Court Rejects Republican Effort to Restore Green Party Candidates on Montana Ballot” by Nicholas Iovino for Courthouse News Service

North Dakota: “North Dakota Supreme Court Orders Measure 3 Removed from Ballot” by Jack Dura for Bismarck Tribune

Ethics

California: “FBI L.A. Chief Reassigned Amid Flap Over Agents’ Meeting at Dodgers Playoff Game” by Josh Gerstein for Politico

Illinois: “Feds Charge a Former Cook County Commissioner with Corruption” by Dan Mihalopoulos for WBEZ

Maryland: “MES Board Members Say McGrath Assured Them Governor Was on Board with Payout; Hogan Says He Wasn’t Involved in Decisions” by Pamela Wood for Baltimore Sun

Lobbying

Arizona: “Maricopa County Won’t Pursue Charges Over Explicit Photos of Arizona Lawmaker Sent to Lobbyist” by Andrew Oxford for Arizona Republic

On August 19, Superior Court Judge Ernest Caposela voided the results of the May elections for the Paterson, New Jersey City Council’s Third Ward.

Judge Caposela ordered a special election to fill the vacant seat with the five previously filed candidates.

After losing the May elections, incumbent William McKoy initiated a lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites fraud by the Councilman-elect Alex Mendez and disputes the election results.

Additionally, Mr. Mendez is currently facing voter fraud charges from the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General.

Finally, the special election will be held on November 3 along with a special election for the City Council’s Second Ward.

The Second Ward seat remains vacant after the May municipal elections ended in a tie after three recounts.

Campaign Finance

National: “Wife of Ex-California Congressman Duncan Hunter Sentenced for Corruption” by Julie Watson (Associated Press) for Riverside Press-Enterprise

Ohio: “Ohio Elections Commission to Consider Sanctioning Failed Campaign to Repeal Nuclear Bailout Bill” by Andrew Tobias for Cleveland Plain Dealer

Elections

National: “More Than 500,000 Mail Ballots Were Rejected in the Primaries. That Could Make the Difference in Battleground States This Fall.” by Elise Viebeck (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

California: “Lobbyist Agrees to Plea Deal in L.A. City Hall Corruption Case” by Emily Alpert Reyes and Joel Rubin for Los Angeles Times

Connecticut: “Top Lamont Aide Had a $100K Job in 2017 with Eversource, the Utility That the Governor Says He’ll Hold Accountable” by Jon Lender for Hartford Courant

Florida: “Ethics Referendum Passes with 62% Support from Voters in City of Naples” by Brittany Carolini for Naples Daily News

Wisconsin: “Milwaukee Ethics Board Votes to Subpoena Former Fire and Police Commission Chairman’s Income Tax Records” by Alison Dirr for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Lobbying

National: “Black, Latino Lobbyists Bristle at Progressives Pushing Corporate K Street Ban on Biden” by Alex Gangitano for The Hill

National: “Consultant Charged in Covert Lobbying of Trump Officials” by Eric Tucker (Associated Press) for Courthouse News Service

The North Dakota Ethics Commission announced it will hold a public hearing to address proposed rules.

The hearing will take place at 9:00 a.m. on September 15.

The proposed rules implement Article XIV of the North Dakota Constitution relating to allowable gifts between lobbyists and public officials and may be reviewed at  https://www.ethicscommission.nd.gov/.

Written or oral comments may be submitted to 101 Slate Drive, Suite #4, Bismarck, North Dakota, 58503, or via email to ethicscommmission@nd.gov.

All comments received by September 29 will be considered.

Campaign Finance

National: “Appeals Court Backs Greater Disclosure of ‘Dark Money’ Donors” by Josh Gerstein for Politico

North Carolina: “Powerful NC Lawmaker Took Donors’ Money for His Own Use, Prosecutors Say” by Will Doran for Raleigh News and Observer

Elections

National: “Trump’s Suggestion of Deploying Law Enforcement Officials to Monitor Polls Raises Specter of Voting intimidation” by Rosalind Helderman, Josh Dawsey, and Matt Zapotosky for Washington Post

National: “The Pandemic Is Creating a New Crop of Political Candidates: Unemployed workers” by Eli Rosenberg for Washington Post

Tennessee: “Tennessee Gov Signs Bill Upping Penalties on Some Protests” by Kimberlee Kruesi and Jonathan Mattise for Associated Press News

Ethics

Missouri: “Plenty of Blame: Audit slams Page, council and county auditor for failures that enabled Stenger schemes” by Jeremy Kohler for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

New York: “N.Y. Attorney General Asks Judge to Order Eric Trump’s Testimony” by William Rashbaum and Danny Hakim for New York Times

Ohio: “How Mid-Level Ohio Political Operative Jeff Longstreth Found Himself at Heart of Householder Scandal” by Jesse Balmert (Cincinnati Enquirer) for Akron Beacon Journal

Lobbying

National: “New Bill Seeks to Bring Lobbying Out of the Shadows” by Donald Shaw for Sludge

On August 21, the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2018 federal District Court ruling invalidating a federal campaign finance regulation limiting the disclosure requirements of organizations making independent expenditures.

On August 3, 2018, a federal district court had ruled a campaign finance disclosure regulation followed for decades by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) failed to uphold disclosure requirements required by a federal statute.

Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the United States District Court for The District of Columbia issued an order, in CREW v. FEC, vacating 11 C.F.R. §109.10(e)(1)(vi), but stayed the vacatur to give time for the FEC to issue interim regulations comporting with the statutory disclosure requirements of 52 U.S.C. §30104(c). The court also has allowed the FEC 30 days to change an earlier FEC dismissal to conform with the court’s ruling. The FEC has not yet replaced the rule.

The case originated because of independent expenditures made in a 2012 Ohio senate race by the non-political social-welfare nonprofit Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (Crossroads GPS), an affiliate of the American Crossroads Super PAC. Crossroads GPS did not report donors when reporting its independent expenditures, while it acknowledged receiving contributions over $200, arguing the donors did not donate funds directly tied to any specific reported expenditure, as the FEC interpreted 11 C.F.R. §109.10(e)(1)(vi) to require.

Non-political committees making independent expenditures over $250 in a calendar year must comply with disclosure obligations closely analogous to those imposed on political committees.

The vacated regulation required the identification of each person who made a contribution in excess of $200 to the person filing a disclosure report, including for non-political 501(c)(4) non-profit entities making independent expenditures, if the contribution was made for the purpose of furthering the reported independent expenditure. The district court found the regulation, as construed and applied by the FEC, did not require the disclosure of donors, absent the donor’s express agreement that the funds be used for the specific expenditures reported to the FEC, even though the donor may otherwise support and in fact contribute for the purpose of funding those expenditures.

The district court had found the regulation impermissibly narrows the mandated disclosure in 52 U.S.C. §30104(c)(2)(C), which requires the identification of such donors contributing for the purpose of furthering the non-political committee’s own express advocacy for or against the election of a federal candidate, even when the donor has not expressly directed that the funds be used in the precise manner reported.

Three Republican lawmakers have introduced articles of impeachment against Gov. Mike DeWine over his COVID-19 response.

A resolution introduced by Representatives John Becker (Clermont County) and co-sponsors Nino Vitale (Champaign County) and Paul Zeltwanger (Warren County) includes 10 articles of impeachment against DeWine.

The trio allege his handling of the pandemic violated the Ohio and United States Constitution, in addition to several sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

The articles claim DeWine interfered in the primary election and violated the separation of powers by having the Department of Health issue orders outside the scope of its authority.

In order for DeWine to be removed from office, a majority of the House would need to approve the resolution, and then two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote to convict him.

North Carolina’s General Assembly has extended the legislative session to adjourn sine die on September 3.

This extension will allow for consideration of matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Registered lobbyists who make an expenditure on legislators and legislative employees will also be required to file monthly reports.

This is the case, as the General Assembly is still in session due to the extension.

Monthly reports are due 10 business days after the end of the month.

In addition, the August report will be due on September 15.

A monthly report for September will not be required as that activity may be incorporated in the Quarterly report due on October 21.

The Mississippi Legislature passed a resolution extending the legislative session to adjourn sine die on October 10 to consider matters concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

This extension pushes back the due date for the Lobbyist End-of-Session Report due 10 days after adjournment sine die to October 20, unless the Legislature votes to adjourn earlier.

On August 25, the Vermont General Assembly will reconvene the legislative session to discuss the governor’s proposed 2021 budget.

Lawmakers will return to a virtual statehouse and all meetings will be conducted remotely.

The budget public hearings will be available to watch live on YouTube at the following link: https://legislature.vermont.gov/committee/streaming/house-appropriations.

Due to the special legislative session being called for August 24, 2020, registered lobbyists will be required to file a monthly report.

Monthly reports must be filed on or before September 15, 2020, covering the month of August.

For questions concerning this matter, contact the Idaho Office of the Secretary of State at elections@sos.idaho.gov or call (208) 344-2852.

Campaign Finance

National: “Swag, but No Luxury Suites: Big donors endure a party-less party convention” by Shane Goldmacher for New York Times

National: “Staff Wants More People of Color Named to the FEC” by Sarah Swann for The Fulcrom

California: “Did L.A. County Wrongly Promote a Tax Hike? It’ll Pay Hefty $1.35 Million to Settle Claims” by Kim Bojorquez for Sacramento Bee

Elections

Florida: “Federal Appeals Court Considers Whether to Uphold Florida Felon Voting Law” by Gary Fineout for Politico

Missouri: “Missouri Judge Finds GOP Redistricting Measure Misleading” by David Lieb for Associated Press News

Ethics

National: “Financial Disclosures Reveal Postmaster General’s Business Entanglements and Likely Conflicts of Interest, Experts Say” by Marshall Cohen for CNN

Arizona: “Farmers Pay Arizona City Official with Goat for Outside Job” by Staff for Associated Press News

Nevada: “Ex-LVCVA Boss to Pay Thousands in Ethics Fines Over Gift Card Scandal” by Jeff German for Las Vegas Review-Journal

Virginia: “Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas Charged with Felonies Over Portsmouth’s Confederate Monument Protest” by Laura Vozzella and Gregory Schneider for Washington Post

Lobbying

Canada: “WE Charity Registers as Lobbyist, Lays Off Dozens of Employees” by Joan Bryden and Teresa Wright (Canadian Press) for HuffPost Canada

The Maine Senate will convene on Monday, August 24, to vote on three nominees for the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Campaign Practice.

Under the Legislature’s joint rules, the Senate may convene independently for confirmation votes.

Two of the nominees were nominated by Gov. Mills in February and the third was nominated by the state’s Republican caucus.

The Senate was unable to vote on the nominations during the regular legislative session due to COVID-19 concerns.

Campaign Finance

National: “They Started in a D.C. Living Room. Now Money from This Grass-Roots Group Is Ending Up in Alaskan Villages.” by Amy Gardner for Washington Post

Elections

National: “G.O.P.-Led Senate Panel Details Ties Between 2016 Trump Campaign and Russia” by Mark Mazzetti and Nicholas Fandos for New York Times

North Dakota: “North Dakota to Vote in November on Top-Four Open Primaries, Ranked-Choice Voting, State Legislative Redistricting, and Other Election Changes” by Jackie Mitchell for Ballotpedia

Ethics

National: “Postmaster General Announces He Is ‘Suspending’ Policies That Were Blamed for Causing Mail Delays” by Jacob Bogage for Washington Post

Canada: “Canadian Finance Minister Resigns Amid Contracting Scandal” by Lauren Gardner for Politico

California: “California Ethics Agency Opens Investigation into Former CalPERS Investment Chief” by Andrew Sheeler for Sacramento Bee

Illinois: “Cook County Board of Ethics Members Ousted by Toni Preckwinkle Are Frustrated with Shakeups, Pace of Proposed Reforms” by Alice Yin for Chicago Tribune

Washington DC: “Jack Evans Is a Week Late and $20,000 Short” by Mitch Ryals (Washington City Paper) for Patch

Lobbying

National: “Nursing Homes with Safety Problems Deploy Trump-Connected Lobbyists” by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Jesse Drucker for New York Times