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Political Parties: Vehicles for Political Association
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

Political parties have been an important actor in American politics since this country’s founding. Parties have been a boon to First Amendment freedoms of political speech and association. They’ve allowed individuals to join together and speak with one voice about the issues of the day. They’ve allowed candidates to associate with a brand and more easily convey their message to…

Super PACs vs. the Smoke-Filled Room
May 26, 2015   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

Chris Cillizza illustrates the benefits of Citizens United and SpeechNow.Org in a Washington Post article examining the wide-open state of the Republican presidential field: ...

Comments on Colorado Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Rules Concerning Campaign and Political Finance 8 CCR 1505-6
May 21, 2015   •  By Allen Dickerson   •  , , , ,

On behalf of the Center for Competitive Politics, I write to offer comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Rules Concerning Campaign and Political ...

Richer Parties, Better Politics? Party-Centered Campaign Finance Laws and American Democracy
October 1, 2013   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

Would “party-centered” campaign finance laws that channel money primarily through party organizations improve American politics? Scholars have long argued that political parties are essential mediating institutions ...

Campaigns, Mobilization, and Turnout in Mayoral Elections
July 15, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Research on local turnout has focused on institutions, with little attention devoted to examining the impact of campaigns. Using an original data set containing information ...

The Bizarre Common Cause Lawsuit

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May 17, 2012   •  By Joe Trotter   •  

Common Cause has filed a lawsuit in a bizarre attempt to end the Senate practice of filibustering. The pro-regulation group partnered with Democratic Representatives ...

Why the Center Does Not Hold: The Causes of Hyperpolarized Democracy in America
August 1, 2010   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Politics as partisan warfare: that is our world. Over the last generation, American democracy has had one defining attribute: extreme partisan polarization. We have not seen ...

Better Parties, Better Government: A Realistic Program for Campaign Finance Reform
April 1, 2009   •  By IFS staff   •  ,

his book does three things. First, it surveys the path of campaign finance regulations since 1971, concluding that the vast majority of provisions - ...

State Campaign Finance Reform, Competitiveness, and Party Advantage in Gubernatorial Elections
April 1, 2006   •  By IFS staff   •  , , ,

Electoral competition is thought to be the cornerstone of democratic rule, yet many policymakers, scholars, and concerned citizens perceive the existence of a competitiveness crisis in ...

Much More of the Same: Television Advertising Pre- and Post-BCRA
January 1, 2006   •  By IFS staff   •  , ,

Before the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), television advertising was the main way candidates for office communicated with voters. Before the passage of ...

This Is Reform? Predicting the Impact of the New Campaign Financing Regulations
November 20, 2002   •  By IFS staff   •  , ,

McCain-style campaign finance regulation is the new campaign reality. But what exactly will this reformist utopia look like? Assessing the “reformed” campaign of the future against the stated ...

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