Policy Primer: Campaign Finance Disclosure – The Devil is in the Details

December 1, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Disclosure laws vary between the federal government and the states, and from state to state, but the general framework is quite uniform. Most campaign finance ...

Issue Analysis No. 7: Do Limits on Corporate and Union Giving to Candidates Lead to “Good” Government?

November 1, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which freed corporations and labor unions to finance independent expenditures in support of federal candidates, the ...

UPDATED: Issue Analysis No. 4: Do Taxpayer-Funded Campaigns Actually Save Taxpayer Dollars?

November 1, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Critics of taxpayer-financed political campaigns frequently argue that such programs increase government spending and reduce available public dollars for spending on other priorities. Advocates often respond that taxpayer funding ...

In Defense of “Super PAC’s” and of the First Amendment

November 1, 2013   •  By Luke Wachob   •  ,

Super PACs seem to have burst upon the electoral scene in 2010, following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.1 ...

Separation of Campaign and State

November 1, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

In a pair of recent decisions, Davis v. FEC and Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, the Supreme Court has struck down on ...

The Non-Expert Agency: Using The SEC To Regulate Partisan Politics

October 1, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Over the past 15 years advocates of campaign finance reform, frustrated by the structure and design of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), have attempted to offload ...

UPDATED: Issue Analysis No. 6: Do Lower Contribution Limits Produce “Good” Government?

October 1, 2013   •  By Joe Albanese   •  ,

Advocates for strict campaign finance laws and low contribution limits often suggest that such limits will do much to improve government. For this reason, proposals and groups urging ...

Campaign Spending and Electoral Competition: Towards More Policy Relevant Research

October 1, 2013   •  By Luke Wachob   •  ,

There is a long-standing scholarly literature on the electoral effects of campaign spending; nevertheless, the academic research offers only limited guidance for policy makers interested ...

‘Super PACs’ and the Role of ‘Coordination’ in Campaign Finance Law

October 1, 2013   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , , ,

In January 2010, the United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, struck down a federal ban on independent expenditures in political ...

UPDATED: Clean Elections and Scandal: Case Studies from Maine, Arizona and New York City

August 14, 2013   •  By Joe Trotter   •  , ,

On June 27, 2011, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett that a portion of Arizona’s tax-financed ...

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