Hot off the heels of last month’s regulatory advance, the California FPPC took action today to further improve the integrity of state campaign finance law.
Continue readingCampaign reformers: Tighten coordination rules first
Coordination rules — the ones that keep independent super PACs independent — aren't working as they were intended.
Continue readingOutside groups spend at least $120 per Alaska voter
Voters in states with competitive races are being overloaded with advertising from outside interests trying to influence their vote. In red-hot Alaska, outsiders have spent at least $120 for each likely voter.
Continue reading“Why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure?”
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., defended the DISCLOSE Act but said "congressional inaction" puts dark money regulation into the IRS' court.
Continue readingOutside spending favors Jolly in FL-13
Political groups not affiliated with any candidate have already spent more then $3.2 million on the special election for Florida's 13th District, Real-Time FEC shows, and thus far the outside money has favored David Jolly, R, the former lobbyist and staffer for the District's longtime Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young.
Continue readingTempers flare as FEC postpones votes on contentious issues yet again
In what might almost be dubbed a summer repeat of its last meeting, the Federal Election Commission sidestepped consideration of a pair of controversial issues while ruling on relatively minor ones.
Votes on whether non-federally regulated contributions (i.e. 'soft money') can be used by an organization affiliated with the Democratic Governors' Association (DGA) and what rules will govern the way FEC staff conduct investigations will be delayed until a future episode.
As previously reported by Sunlight, the DGA is seeking the FEC's approval of its plans to create a separate 527 organization, Jobs & Opportunity, that could raise funds ...
Continue readingOutside spenders’ return on investment: Capitol Hill edition
Sunlight calculates outside spenders return on investment for congressional races and hosts a webinar on how to use the data
Continue readingAd Hawk Collects 4,000+ Ads, Tracks Spending
With the end of the 2012 election season, so too comes the conclusion of a seemingly infinite number of campaign... View Article
Continue readingOutside spenders dump $210 million into last full week of the campaign
In the last full week before the election, outside spending groups have bombarded voters with a record $210 million in ads, direct mail, and other political expenditures, and, as in weeks past, the vast majority of the funds went to support Republican candidates.
Since Sept. 7 -- when the FEC began requiring all groups to disclose independent expenditures, regardless of the content -- the rate of outside spending has ballooned, reaching a new high this week. A Sunlight analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows that organizations dropped $132.6 million to back Republicans in the period between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1, while just $76.4 went to help Democrats. That compares to $26 million for the second week of September.
Continue readingWeek’s outside spending favors Republicans 2:1
Less than two weeks before the election, outside spending took another big leap last week, jumping to $180 million since last Friday favoring Republicans nearly two-to-one.
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