The Corporate Overlords Will Be Kind: Campaign Finance, Representation and Corporate-Led Democracy by
'The Corporate Overlords will be Kind' is a unique book in that it makes use of a multi-pronged approach - journalistic, legal, theoretical - to find, document, and explain instances in which well-known corporations such as Wal-Mart, Uber, McDonald's, Airbnb, Gillette, Nike and others have involved themselves, as 'artificial persons', in political and social debates involving aspects such as gender, racism, sexual minorities, and gun ownership. This book argues that these transnational, multi-billion-dollar corporations that thrive in the globalized world market are forced to take explicitly political stances by the very environment in which they activate and by the consumers whom they serve, taking on the latter's values and opinions and representing them to retain them as customers.'The Corporate Overlords will be Kind' advances that corporations are now - and will increasingly be - the loudest voices in the political market square of the United States, but that such a situation is not necessarily a cause for concern. This book thus departs from the traditional scholarly views of Citizens United (the 2010 landmark decision of the Supreme Court which granted free speech to corporations as persons) as a woe to democracy, and argues that the ageless, deathless, genderless, nationless corporations will be the political representatives of the futures, not political parties.This book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students specializing in social sciences, particularly politics, history, sociology, and law. Political professionals and journalists may also be interested in the book, in addition to the general reader with interest in politics.
Federal Election Commission: Background, Issues, and Campaign Finance Oversight by
Over 40 years ago, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and related amendments. Today, the FEC is responsible for administering disclosure of millions of campaign finance transactions; interpretation and civil enforcement of FECA and agency regulations; and administering the presidential public financing program. This book provides selected information about the FECs history and ongoing issues that are likely to be of interest to Congress for appropriations, legislative, or oversight activities. It also provides Congress with a resource for understanding the FECs enforcement process and context for why enforcement is consequential; discusses deadlocked votes among members of the FEC; discusses current Supreme Court and other case law evaluating the constitutionality of limits on contributions and expenditures; and examines recent developments of the state of campaign finance policy.
Campaign Finance and Political Polarization by
Efforts to reform the U.S. campaign finance system typically focus on the corrupting influence of large contributions. Yet, as Raymond J. La Raja and Brian F. Schaffner argue, reforms aimed at cutting the flow of money into politics have unintentionally favored candidates with extreme ideological agendas and, consequently, fostered political polarization. Drawing on data from 50 states and the U.S. Congress over 20 years, La Raja and Schaffner reveal that current rules allow wealthy ideological groups and donors to dominate the financing of political campaigns. In order to attract funding, candidates take uncompromising positions on key issues and, if elected, take their partisan views into the legislature. As a remedy, the authors propose that additional campaign money be channeled through party organizations-rather than directly to candidates-because these organizations tend to be less ideological than the activists who now provide the lion's share of money to political candidates. Shifting campaign finance to parties would ease polarization by reducing the influence of "purist" donors with their rigid policy stances. La Raja and Schaffner conclude the book with policy recommendations for campaign finance in the United States. They are among the few non-libertarians who argue that less regulation, particularly for political parties, may in fact improve the democratic process.
Subsidizing Democracy by
In the wake of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the case that allowed corporate and union spending in elections, many Americans despaired over the corrosive influence that private and often anonymous money can have on political platforms, campaigns, and outcomes at the federal and state level. In McComish v. Bennett (2011), the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the matching funds feature of so-called "Clean Elections" public financing laws, but there has been no strong challenge to the constitutionality of public funding as such. In Subsidizing Democracy, Michael G. Miller considers the impact of state-level public election financing on political campaigns through the eyes of candidates. Miller's insights are drawn from survey data obtained from more than 1,000 candidates, elite interview testimony, and twenty years of election data. This book is therefore not only an effort to judge the effects of existing public election funding but also a study of elite behavior, campaign effects, and the structural factors that influence campaigns and voters.The presence of publicly funded candidates in elections, Miller reports, results in broad changes to the electoral system, including more interaction between candidates and the voting public and significantly higher voter participation. He presents evidence that by providing neophytes with resources that would have been unobtainable otherwise, subsidies effectively manufacture quality challengers. Miller describes how matching-funds provisions of Clean Elections laws were pervasively manipulated by candidates and parties and were ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court. A revealing book that will change the way we think about campaign funding, Subsidizing Democracy concludes with an evaluation of existing proposals for future election policy in light of Miller's findings.
Contractual Politics and the Institutionalization of Bureaucratic Influence by
This book sheds light on the dealings between special interests and political parties by challenging three long-standing assumptions: that transactions between interest groups and parties are quid pro quo exchanges, such as the buying and selling of legislation; that the interrelationship between bureaucrats and interest groups is accommodating and friendly; and that special interests are single-minded in their pursuit of favorable policies, specifically legislation and regulations. The authors argue that political transactions are organized through durable informal agreements between interest groups and political parties, whereby parties obtain a dependable source of long-term campaign funds, and interest groups gain enduring favorable treatment in the political process. In response to interest group demands, legislatures such as Congress establish quasi-governmental appendages to federal agencies that oversee the administration of programs prized by special interests--namely, federal advisory committees. The authors examine the complex relationship between the establishment and influence of thousands of federal advisory committees and long-term interest group contributions to political parties.
Federal Elections Commission (FEC)
The Federal Election Commission's Campaign Finance Disclosure Portal provides a single entry point to campaign finance data. You'll find easy-to-navigate maps and charts that display the campaign finance data you're most interested in. You'll also find many search tools that will help you through our data sources. You can download many of these data sets to perform your analyses.
Understanding Ways to Support Federal Candidates
A guide from the Federal Election Commission on campaign finance restrictions.
Political Organization Filing and Disclosure
A searchable database for all electronic and paper submissions of Form 8871 and Form 8872.
CFI's regularly published analyses of federal campaign finance are built on the idea that to identify new developments, you have to look at consistent data over time to compare what is with what was. We invite you to review historical data under these various headings.
Center for Responsive Politics
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan organization that tracks campaign contributions at both the federal and state level and links contributions to their effect on public policy.
Center For Comparative Politics (CCP)
CCP is opposed to efforts to limit campaign contributions. Their site has research, background on court cases, and a map allowing users to check on developments in each state.
Princeton University - Campaign Money
An excellent guide published by Princeton University on researching campaign funding sources.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit National Institute on Money in State Politics promotes an accountable democracy by compiling comprehensive campaign-donor, lobbyist, and other information from government disclosure agencies nationwide.
Source for campaign finance information for state legislators. Look at a legislator's profile and click Influence Explorer.
OpenSecrets.org is the nation's premier website tracking money's influence on U.S. politics and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. OpenSecrets.org has become a clearinghouse for data and analysis on multiple aspects of money in politics - including the independent interest groups, such as super PACs and political nonprofits, flooding politics with outside spending, federal lobbying, Washington's "revolving door" and the personal finances of members of Congress, the president, and other officials.
"CampaignMoney.com lets you see the hidden world of American political campaigns. CampaignMoney.com is your door key to inside politics, American politics."
Sunlight Foundation - Tools and Projects - The Sunlight Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make government more accountable to all.
Churnalism US is a web tool and browser extension to let you know when news articles may have similarities with press releases and other sources.
Influence Explorer connects the dots of political contributions on the federal and state level, allowing you to track influence by lawmakers, companies, or prominent individuals.
ACE Electoral Knowledge Network
The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network is your portal to the world of elections. The ACE network promotes credible and transparent electoral processes with an emphasis on sustainability, professionalism, and trust in the electoral process. ACE offers various services related to electoral knowledge, assistance, and capacity development.
Federal Election Commission lists acronyms of political action committees.
Foreign Lobbying Influence Tracker digitizes information that representatives of foreign governments, political parties, and government-controlled entities must disclose to the U.S. Justice Department when they seek to influence U.S. policy.
The following list contains eBooks available through Ebsco Databases. These are only accessible online through the provided links to CSU Faculty, Students, and Staff.
Financing the 2016 Election by
Money and politics in an election that broke the mold Beginning with the 1960 election, readers could turn to one book for an authoritative and comprehensive examination of campaign finance at the federal level. Now, the latest in this respected series, Financing the 2016 Election, explores the role of money in one of the most unconventional elections in modern American history.
Financing the 2012 Election by
The amount of money flowing through U.S. politics continues to astound. "While not all expenditures are reported," writes David Magleby, "our best estimate is that at least $8 billion was spent in the 2012 federal elections." In this essential volume, the latest in a quadrennial series dating back to 1960, Magleby and his colleagues reveal where all this the money came from, where it went, what were the results--and why it matters.
Financing the 2008 Election by
The 2008 elections were by any standard historic. The nation elected its first African American president, and the Republicans nominated their first female candidate for vice president. More money was raised and spent on federal contests than in any election in U.S. history. Barack Obama raised a record-setting $745 million for his campaign and federal candidates, party committees, and interest groups also raised and spent record-setting amounts. Moreover, the way money was raised by some candidates and party committees has the potential to transform American politics for years to come. The latest installment in a series that dates back half a century, Financing the 2008 Election is the definitive analysis of how campaign finance and spending shaped the historic presidential and congressional races of 2008. It explains why these records were set and what it means for the future of U.S. politics. David Magleby and Anthony Corrado have assembled a team of experts who join them in exploring the financing of the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. They provide insights into the political parties and interest groups that made campaign finance history and summarize important legal and regulatory changes that affected these elections.
Financing the 2004 Election by
In the wake of recent legislation, court challenges, and demands for reform, campaign finance remains one of the most important and controversial aspects of the world's oldest democracy. Since 1960, Financing the Election volumes have presented reliable information on the costs and trends of campaign finance in the United States. In establishing the parameters of electoral campaigns and political spending--and interpreting the results--Financing the 2004 Election provides a unique resource for readers and citizens interested in the current state of politics and money in America.
Financing the 2000 Election by
Since the 1960 national election, the nonpartisan Citizens¡¯ Research Foundation (CRF) has published a series of Financing the Election volumes, compiling reliable data on the costs and trends of campaign finance. For the 2000 edition, CRF and the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University assembled leading political science scholars to analyze this historic election season where campaign finance was critically important. Candice J. Nelson of American University compares spending estimates in 2000 with previous election cycles, and discusses the implications of increased spending. John C. Green and Nathan S. Bigelow of the Roy Bliss Institute at the University of Akron look at the presidential nomination campaigns, while Anthony Corrado of Colby College explores the financing of the general election, including the unprecedented Florida recount battle.
Financing the 1996 Election by 
