Federal Election Commission Publishes Free Book “Federal Election Campaign Laws”

The Federal Election Commission has published a 256-page book, “Federal Election Campaign Laws.” It can be seen on-line here. Also, anyone may obtain a free print copy by phoning 800-424-9530 and pushing option 6. Or, e-mail the FEC at info@fec.gov to request a copy.

The bulk of the book consists of Title 52 of the U.S. Code, “Elections”; and Title 26 of the Internal Revenue Code. There are other code sections from other codes in the Appendix. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

U.S. District Court Holds Trial in Case on South Dakota Ban on Out-of-State Contributions to Initiative Campaigns

On May 3, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Kornmann held a one-day trial in South Dakota Newspaper Association v Barnett, 3:19cv-3010. This is the case over the South Dakota ban on out-of-state individuals contribution for or against an initiative campaign. This case is combined with a similar case called South Dakota Voice v Noem, same case number. Here is a newspaper story describing the trial.

North Carolina Special Primary for U.S. House, 3rd District

On April 30, North Carolina held a primary for the special election, U.S. House, 3rd district. The seat is vacant because Congressman Walter B. Jones died. There were primaries for all three North Carolina parties that nominate by primary: Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian.

Here are the results. The Republicans must have a runoff primary on July 9 because no one got the required 30%. Because the Republicans must have a runoff, the special general election won’t occur until September 10. If someone had got 30% in the Republican primary, then the special general election would have been July 9.

Nicholas Stephanopoulos Analyzes Ohio Gerrymandering Decision

Nicholas Stephanopoulos of Election Law Blog here analyzes the May 3 Ohio decision, striking down the U.S. House district boundaries as a partisan gerrymander. For those who are interested in this topic but who don’t want to read the very long opinion, Stephanopoulos provides a clear and interesting summary which covers the Ohio decision and also the other recent lower court decisions on partisan gerrymanders.