In the heat of the election political staffers have to make quick decisions without giving it much thought. When you multiply that by sleeping only a few hours each night, those decisions end up being very bad or possibly, career ending. The latest case in Maryland involving robocalls during the 2010 election is a prime… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Campaign Law
Just a Reminder: Filling Out Other Voters’ Absentee Ballots is ILLEGAL
“I knew it was wrong, but I did not think it was illegal.” If you are a candidate, campaign manager, or campaign worker, and those words go through your head–STOP. There is a high likelihood that what you, or someone you know, are doing is illegal. Those words came from Troy, NY City Councilman Kevin… Continue Reading
Ballot Access in the States: Wisconsin Emails Absentee Ballots (for now), California Approves Online Registration
A couple of stories on ways that state governments are making it easier for people to vote: Wisconsin: The State Legislature passed a voter id law back in May, and in the same law they allowed for absentee ballots to be emailed to people to request them. The voters would still have to print them… Continue Reading
Proposed Michigan Law Would Restrict Teachers From Using Public Property For Political Communication
The proposed Michigan Law, Michigan House Bill No. 4052, doesn’t limit it only to teachers, but to all public employees from using “publicly owned property, facilities, or services, including an electronic mail system, for political activities [or] political fundraising…” The reason we focus on teachers in this article is because of the way the news… Continue Reading
Oregon City Auditor’s Job Disappears After 2004 Election Error is Discovered
File this lesson under “make sure to read your City Charter”. A City Auditor in Gresham, Oregon is just now discovering that her position, which she has been in since 2007 no longer exists because of a mistake in the election that created her position in the first place. It turns out the vote on… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Town Could Lower Voting Age to 17 for Local Elections
A student-led drive to lower the voting age to 17 for municpal elections like City Council or Mayor is picking up steam in the town of Lowell, Massachusetts. Lowering the voting age isn’t a new cause; in fact, it even has several of its own special interest groups like the National Youth Rights Association. What… Continue Reading
Fresh Off Recall Fever, State of Wisconsin Makes It Even Easier to Recall Electeds
Soon to be more famous for endless recall campaigns than cheese, the State of Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board has agreed to a new policy that allows single-signature forms to be submitted as part of a recall campaign. This means that instead of relying on paid gatherers standing outside of grocery stores, individuals could just print… Continue Reading
Update: Medical Pot Owner Who Traded Pot for Votes Charged With Election Tampering
We posted a story a couple of months ago about a medicinal marijuana shop that offered free “samples” for people who registered to vote. At the same time, the store was also actively promoting a certain City Council candidate who was pro-marijuana, and against ones that weren’t. This had people in in a huff. It… Continue Reading
Today in Breaking Campaign Finance Laws (& Going to Jail) News
Who says breaking campaign finance laws and laundering money only has to be the domain of guys in Congress or higher? The little guys can get in on the action too! A story out of Fairfield, Ohio says that a local businessman was in cahoots with a former School Board member to funnel $25,000 to… Continue Reading