Campaigns and Elections

Frequent and fair elections, open to all, are fundamental elements of a democracy. The United States, through its local, state, and national contests, holds more elections, more often, than any other democracy in the world. But in recent years, there have been troubling signs that our system of campaigns and elections has become much more fragile than we had previously thought. More specifically, in the past twenty years, campaigns have changed profoundly: social media and viral messaging compete with traditional media, races once considered local in nature have become nationalized, Supreme Court decisions on campaign finance law now encourage mega-donors, voters are more polarized, party affiliation has waned, and the middle ideological ground has given way to extremist language and voter rage. Twice in sixteen years we have seen winning presidential candidates gaining fewer popular votes than their opponents. The fundamental right of every citizen to vote has been impeded by state legislatures demanding tighter access, more identification, and accusations of voter fraud. And we have faced the real threat of foreign influence in our national elections. This book offers the most up-to-date examination of campaigns and elections, including the challenges and opportunities they present. It addresses fundamental questions about who votes in American elections, how legislative districts are reapportioned and why it matters, the realities of voter fraud, the pros and cons of reforming the Electoral College, the impact of dark money on campaigns, and the role of political consultants and specialists, among other topics. Given the fragility of our election process, what are the threats to a healthy American democracy? Do the candidates with the most money always win? This is not simply a book on how campaigns are run, but why campaigns and elections are integral components of American democracy and how those fundamental elements may be vulnerable to misuse.

Między wolnością słowa a zasadą równości biernego prawa wyborczego. Ramy prawne systemu finansowania kampanii wyborczych w świetle I poprawki do Konstytucji USA

The article is a paper presented during the Poland-wide academic conference The U.S. Constitution – theory and practice. The basis for reflections constitutes an issue of the constitutionality of the federal legislation establishing restrictions on the money’s influence on financing election campaigns. The paper focuses on an analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s case law related to the range of an acceptable interference of such regulations in the freedom of speech and political expression clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. The author discusses selected statements contained in the rulings made in cases, from which as the most crucial he regards: Buckley v. Valeo (1976), McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003) and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010). In the conclusion of the article an opinion is presented that the U.S. Supreme Court judicature, co-creating with the federal legislation the campaign finance law, is an unique attempt at balancing the two values fundamental to the democratic election process, which are freedom of speech and the principle of equal opportunities for political competitors.

From the FEC to the Ballot Box: Voter Accountability for Campaign Finance Law Violations

Scholarship suggests the Federal Election Commission lacks adequate enforcement tools to deter those who would violate campaign finance laws. But can and do voters hold political candidates accountable for violating these laws? In this article, we employ two studies to empirically evaluate these questions. The first examines the extent to which media cover campaign finance violations, and how they do so. The second employs an experimental approach to test the effects of such media coverage on evaluations of political candidates, in particular whether knowledge of a candidate’s violation of campaign finance laws erodes voter support. We find that the media are more likely to cover campaign finance impropriety for high-profile offices, when criminal action is alleged, and for most serious violations. We also show that voters care about campaign violations, and certain violations lower voter support similar to other types of political scandal.

Corporations, Unions, And Citizens United

Citizens United undermined more than 100 years of campaign finance law when it gave corporations the First Amendment right to spend money in elections. Congress had said in 1907 that corporations did not have that right; that First Amendment rights were the rights...

Watergate and Buckley V. Valeo

Congress passed the 1974 FECA amendments in response to the Watergate scandal. The amendments were the most comprehensive revision of campaign finance law in history, but they incorporated most of the laws that had been on the books since the Tillman Act in 1907....