August 28, 2012 •
Missouri Court Orders New Election for September 24th
Some primary voters in the 87th House District received the wrong ballot
A St. Louis County judge ordered a new election between state Representative Stacey Newman and Susan Carlson for the 87th House District. The new Democratic primary election is scheduled to be held on Monday, September 24, 2012.
Initial results of the August 7, 2012 primary showed Newman had won the election by a single vote, but the St. Louis County Board of Election found irregularities soon after the results were announced. The mistakes occurred at a polling place in Brentwood, where poll workers accidentally handed voters ballots with the 83rd District race between James Trout and Gina Mitten.
During the court hearing, it was revealed that 100 voters in the 83rd District received ballots to vote in the 87th District, while two 87th District residents received ballots for the 83rd District. Judge Michael Jamison cited Revised Missouri Statute section 115.593, which allows the court to order a new election if the evidence provided demonstrates irregularities were sufficient to cast doubt on the outcome of the election.
August 27, 2012 •
FEC Advisory Opinion Addresses “Expressly Advocating”
Not All Issues Resolved
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) issued an advisory opinion offering limited guidance on what type of solicitations for political contributions are permissible and what type of advertisements qualify as expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate.
In Advisory Opinion 2012-27, the FEC found two of four proposed donation requests permissible. The Commission also concluded three of seven proposed advertisements did not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified federal candidate.
The remaining advertising and donation requests were not decided by the FEC because it lacked the required four affirmative votes for agreement.
August 27, 2012 •
Monday News Roundup
Here are the latest campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics articles to start your week:
Campaign Finance
Tennessee: “TN nears record for political donations” by Paul C. Barton in The Tennessean.
“Obama Outpaces Romney in Small-Dollar Donations” by Jonathan D. Salant in Bloomberg Business Week.
“Super PACs see GOP convention in Tampa as a fundraising opportunity” by Chris Moody in Yahoo News.
“Convention Contributions Down and More Discreet” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.
“Romney ‘absolutely’ would return to public funding in ’16” by Darren Samuelsohn in Politico.
Lobbying
California: “20 California lawmakers accepted gifts despite ‘no-gift’ signs” by The Associated Press in the Mercury News.
New York: “Opponent hints McDonald is lobbyist” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.
“The 10 Lobbying Firms That Rake In The Most Money” by Abby Rogers in Business Insider.
“Convention is not siren call for K Street firms” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
Ethics
“N.Y Can’t Escape Corruption as Senator Says She’ll Be Arrested” by Freeman Klopott and David McLaughlin in Bloomberg News.
August 24, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – August 24, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Skinny-Dipping in Israel Casts Unwanted Spotlight on Congressional Travel
Text ‘GIVE’ to Obama: President’s campaign launches cell phone donation drive
Twitter’s Role in the Upcoming Conventions
From the States and Municipalities:
California
Higher Lobbyist Fees Approved to Fix Campaign Finance Database
California
San Bernardino County: Contribution limits approved
Florida
Campaign Vendors Say Republican Congressman David Rivera Funded Democrat’s Failed Primary Bid
Illinois
Illinois House Expels Rep. Derrick Smith over Bribery Charge
Minnesota
Donor against Marriage Amendment Will Remain Unnamed
Missouri
Akin Says He’ll Stay in Senate Race, Heightening Tension within GOP
New Hampshire
Most Campaign Money Remains Hidden in New Hampshire
New York
Gifts End in $1.7 Million Deal
North Carolina
Despite Laws, NC Legislators Still Ask Lobbyists for Money
Oregon
Oregon Political Social Scene a Thing of the Past
Pennsylvania
Report Faults Ethics Board: Small staff and lack of authority cited
State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 80 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.
News You Can Use is a news service provided at no charge only to clients of our online Executive Source Guides, or ALERTS™ consulting clients.
August 24, 2012 •
Minnesota Calls a Special Session of the Legislature
Legislature expected to pass flood relief package
The state legislature will convene a special session Friday afternoon to approve a flood relief package for parts of the state which were devastated by summer flooding. The session will convene at 2:00 p.m. and must end by 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
The legislature will vote on a $167.5 million relief package, but it is expected to pass without issue. Governor Mark Dayton and the legislative leaders have already agreed on the package and the deal restricts any other legislators from making changes to the bill.
State and Federal Communications is proud to sponsor NPR coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions on WAMU!
If you live in the Washington, D.C. area, be sure to listen to WAMU 88.5 American University Radio for your direct line to the National Conventions. Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, said,”We are very excited to be a part of this crucial service!”
Senate Bill 1001 awaits governor’s approval
Lobbyists and political committees will be paying more for registration when Governor Jerry Brown signs Senate Bill 1001 into law. The bill passed both houses with the two-thirds majority required to amend the state’s Political Reform Act. Political committees would pay $50 to register and lobbyists would pay $100 to register for a biennial session.
The increased revenue will help with maintaining California’s Cal-Access website, which tracks lobbying activity and campaign finance reports. Political committees currently have no registration fee and lobbyists currently pay $50 to register for the biennial session.
August 23, 2012 •
Eye on the Races – August 23, 2012
New Poll Shows Race As Tight As Ever
The New York Times, CBS News and Quinnipiac University today released a poll of likely voters in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin. Florida and Ohio have long been considered battleground states, but according to the new numbers, Wisconsin has now been added to the list of states where the Presidential election will be fought. The poll shows President Obama with only a two point lead over Governor Romney, well within the margin of error. If the election were held today, 49% of respondents in Wisconsin would vote for Obama, while 47% of respondents would vote for Romney.
The new poll comes on the heels of Gov. Romney’s selection of Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan as his running mate. During a poll conducted in the week prior to the selection, President Obama maintained a six point lead over Gov. Romney. In 2008, President Obama handily won the state over Senator John McCain by a healthy margin of 14 points. Recently, Wisconsin has been slowly moving towards toss-up status, and the Ryan selection seems to have pushed it over the edge. A Republican presidential ticket has not won the state since Ronald Reagan’s reelection in 1984.
Similarly in Florida, Obama maintains a lead with likely voters of only three points at 49% to 46%. However, in Ohio, Obama’s advantage has held steady from the previous poll at six points with 50% to 44% of likely voters favoring the President. The poll further shows that voters in all three states view the economy as the most important issue in the election; 60% of voters in Florida, 59% of voters in Ohio, and 54% of voters in Wisconsin characterized the issue as “extremely important”.
Other notes from the trail:
- Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has been chosen by the Obama campaign as the stand-in for GOP Vice Presidential Nominee Paul Ryan during debate prep for Vice President Joe Biden. Van Hollen is the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, which Ryan chairs. Ryan and Van Hollen regularly go head to head on the issues that will be discussed in the vice presidential debate. The campaign has also confirmed that Sen. John Kerry will play the role of Gov. Romney in President Obama’s debate prep. Both Kerry and Romney hail from Massachusetts, and with Sen. Kerry comes the added advantage of a debate partner who has previously run for President as well. The Romney campaign has not announced who will stand-in for the President and Vice President during their debate prep.
- Following comments he made that “legitimate rape” rarely causes pregnancy and therefore is not a valid provision for allowing abortion, Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) announced that he will stay in the race for the Senate seat from Missouri. Akin has received numerous phone calls from members of his own party, including Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, to withdraw from the race. As Akin did not step aside from the race prior to a 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 21 deadline, it would now take a court order to remove his name from the ballot should he change his mind. Additionally, under Missouri law, after September 25, his name would remain on the ballot regardless of his intentions.
August 23, 2012 •
Obama Campaign Accepts Text Donations and Other Campaign Finance News
Enjoy these articles in today’s campaign finance news summary:
“Text ‘GIVE’ to Obama: President’s campaign launches cellphone donation drive” by Dan Eggen in The Washington Post.
“Super PAC Contributions Top $300 Million, Most Goes To GOP Groups” by Paul Blumenthal in the Huffington Post.
California: “L.A. campaign finance overhaul scaled back by City Council members” in the Los Angeles Times.
New Jersey: “N.J. judge: Former Newark mayor violated campaign finance laws” by Phil Gregory in Newsworks New Jersey.
August 22, 2012 •
Two New Apps Can Identify Political Ads
Sunlight Foundation’s Ad Hawk and Glassy Media’s Super PAC App
You now have two new tools for identifying who is behind a political ad that you see on TV. The Sunlight Foundation has released Ad Hawk and Glassy Media has offered Super PAC App. Both tools can listen to an ad and tell you what group is responsible for it, and Super PAC App can even point you to Politifact and FactCheck to weigh the facts surrounding the claims of the ad.
The apps are available for iPhone and Android devices.
For full news coverage, be sure to read:
“New apps can instantly identify political ads” by Brendan Sasso in The Hill.
“’Super PAC App’ knows when political ads stretch the truth” by John D. Sutter in CNN.com.
“Who’s Behind That Political Ad? This App Tells You” by Alex Fitzpatrick in Mashable.
August 22, 2012 •
Special Election Set for Alabama House District 34
Timeline mirrors that set for House District 30
Governor Robert Bentley has called a special election to fill the seat for House District 34, currently held by Representative Elwyn Thomas. Representative Thomas was appointed to be executive director of the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission, and will hold the seat until August 31.
The primary for the seat will by October 23, with a general special election scheduled for December 11 if no runoff is needed. If a runoff election is needed, it will be held December 11, with the general special election to be held January 29, 2013.
August 22, 2012 •
New Vendor Rules Possible for HISD
Ethics Rules
Trustees of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) hope to change ethics rules involving vendor contracting.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the new rules would require trustees to disclose relationships with vendors, prohibit trustees from voting on contracts where a vendor contributed $500 or more to a trustee’s political campaign, and prohibit vendors’ contributions while bidding for HISD contracts.
Last October, similar ethics changes were discussed but not implemented by HISD. The trustees are expected to vote on new policies in September.
August 22, 2012 •
San Bernardino County Approves Campaign Contribution Limits
$3,900 limit for supervisors and countywide candidates
The Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved campaign contribution limits to take effect January 1, 2013. The ordinance subjects supervisors and countywide candidates to the same limits as state legislative candidates at $3,900 per election cycle from individuals and $7,800 from small contributor committees.
Contributions or expenditures of $10,000 or more to candidates and independent expenditure committees will now be disclosed electronically. Currently, state law requires disclosure for amounts greater than $50,000 for state and independent committees, but no requirements are in place for local races.
The ordinance goes before the board again Tuesday, August 28, 2012 for adoption.
Seal of San Bernardino County, California by Jetijones on Wikipedia.
August 22, 2012 •
Wednesday News Roundup
Today, we have lobbying, campaign finance, ethics, and redistricting news from around the country:
Lobbying
California: “Bill raises fees on lobbyists to fund disclosure” by The Associated Press in the Mercury News.
North Carolina: “Despite laws, NC legislators still ask lobbyists for money” by Laura Leslie in WRAL.com.
South Carolina: “SC: Top-paid State House lobbyist earns $673K” by Eric K. Ward in Watchdog.org.
Campaign Finance
Arizona: “State Sen. Gould: No improper campaign spending” by Rebekah L. Sanders in the Arizona Republic.
Ethics
Kansas: “Kansas lawmakers unwittingly broke open meetings law” by Brad Cooper in the Kansas City Star.
North Dakota: “Legislators to create code of conduct after North Dakota named ‘most corrupt state’” by Wendy Reuer in InForum.
South Carolina: “Haley, Wilson unveiling ethics reform package” by The Associated Press in the Greenville News.
Redistricting
“2012 Pre-election Turnover is Typical for a Redistricting Year” by Karl Kurtz in NCSL’s The Thicket blog.
Montana: “Commission wraps up proposal for new Montana House districts” by Mike Dennison in the Missoulian.
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