You can read the indictment here. The Washington Post reports on the indictment. [Update: You can now read my Slate column on the Edwards indictment. I also talked about it on “To the Point” with Warren Olney.] I’m not at all sure that if Edwards is convicted that the campaign finance charges will stick. There […]
Author Archive | Rick Hasen & John Matsusaka, guest-blogging
What’s Next for the Single Subject Rule?
The single subject requirement is a technical rule that is often used to invalidate voter initiatives, either before or after they go to the ballot. Critics of the rule have claimed that it cannot be enforced in an objective, consistent way because the definition of a “subject” is infinitely elastic. Our article, based on our […]
Judges’ Political Preferences Seem to Explain Voting in Single Subject Cases in States with “Aggressive” Single Subject Test
A popular tactic for fighting a ballot initiative is to claim it violates the single subject rule, leaving it to a panel of judges to decide its fate and possibly prevent it from reaching the voters. To understand the role of the single subject rule in initiative politics, then, we have to understand how judges […]
Government “Regrets . . . Omission” of Citation to Controlling Beaumont Case in Va. Contributions Briefing
Following up on this post, I have posted the supplemental briefs filed in this case. The government takes responsibility for not citing what it claims is controlling legal authority on the issue before it: the constitutionality of the 100-year-old ban on direct corporate contributions to candidates. Meanwhile, a petition en banc has been filed in […]
The Weak Theoretical Justifications for the Single Subject Rule
In yesterday’s post, we explained the basics of the “single subject” rule: initiatives may contain only one “subject” or they are unenforceable. The rule leads to controversy because the concept of a “subject” is not self-defining and state courts have developed different single subject tests. Regardless of terminology, most courts seek to justify their rules […]
Federal District Court May Reconsider Decision Holding Federal Corporate Contribution Ban Unconstitutional
Eugene blogged last week about United States v. Danielzyck, a criminal case in which a federal court held the law barring direct corporate contributions to candidates to be unconstitutional. Today, the court on its own motion asked for briefing on whether it should reverse its own ruling in light of direct Supreme Court authority on […]
Introducing the Single Subject Rule for Initiatives
By Rick Hasen & John Matsusaka, guest-blogging on May 31, 2011 11:40 am in Election Law, Uncategorized
Many thanks to Eugene for giving us the opportunity to blog about our article, Aggressive Enforcement of the Single Subject Rule (pdf) which appeared recently in the Election Law Journal‘s special symposium issue honoring the scholarship of election law pioneer, Dan Lowenstein. The single subject rule — a requirement that initiatives embrace only one subject […]