Five Misconceptions about “Dark Money”

July 8, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

“Dark money” is a pejorative term for spending on ads urging the election or defeat of candidates by nonprofit groups – typically 501(c)(4) social welfare ...

Three Primary Threats to 501(c)(3) Donor Privacy

June 16, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

Across the country, those who wish to silence dissent are seeking to force nonprofit groups to reveal the private information – names, home addresses, occupations, ...

Tax-Financed Campaigns and Corruption in New York: The Wrong Treatment for the Right Diagnosis

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May 13, 2015   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

The arrest of New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos on federal corruption charges has added fuel to the already fiery debate over ...

Political Climate Change: How Contribution Limits and Campaign Finance Regulations are Lengthening Campaigns for President

May 11, 2015   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  , ,

Why are campaigns so long these days? Why are so many candidates declaring their candidacies or announcing that they will “test the waters” for a ...

Contribution Limits Increase in 15 States and Federally after Citizens United

January 21, 2015   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

Five years after the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which struck down a federal law on First Amendment grounds banning corporations ...

Unenforceable: States Respond to McCutcheon and Support the First Amendment

July 8, 2014   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

On April 2, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, which invalidated the federal aggregate limit on contributions ...

State Aggregate Limits and Proportional Bans under McCutcheon

July 8, 2014   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

On April 2, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission.[1] In that case, plaintiff Shaun McCutcheon challenged the ...

Amending the First Amendment: The Udall Proposal is Poorly Drafted, Intellectually Unserious, and Extremely Dangerous to Free Speech

May 29, 2014   •  By IFS Staff   •  , ,

The Senate Judiciary Committee will soon hold a hearing on S.J. Res. 19, a constitutional amendment to restrict First Amendment rights proposed by Senator ...

What You Probably Haven’t Heard About Citizens United (Video)

November 5, 2012   •  By Brad Smith   •  , ,

In early 2008, a group called Citizens United sought to air commercials for their documentary that was highly critical of then-Senator Hillary Clinton. This ...

Money in Politics (Video)

October 22, 2012   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

Should we worry when money and politics mix? Common wisdom suggests that large campaign contributions can corrupt politicians and disenfranchise regular voters. However, Prof. ...

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