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COVID-19 is surging again in Texas. Hospitalizations are increasing faster than at any other time. Local officials and school leaders are pushing back against Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates.…

COVID-19 is surging again in Texas. Hospitalizations are increasing faster than at any other time. Local officials and school leaders are rebelling against Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates. He…

A new study shows the role of the super rich in politics since the Supreme Court loosened restrictions on political spending more than a decade ago.

A divided U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a California requirement that charities list the names and addresses of their top donors in filings with the state, saying the rule violates the Constitution’s First Amendment.

Governor Mills recently signed into law several bills that affect campaigns and elections in the state of Maine. L.D. 1363: An Act to Amend the Laws Governing Elections L.D. 1363 makes several changes to the use of ranked-choice voting and absentee ballots in Maine elections. The bill expands the type of elections using ranked-choice voting. […]

Senate Bill 224 would allow unlimited PAC donations to candidates in Montana, while substantially raising limits on contributions by individuals and political parties to campaigns.

New campaign finance laws known as Ballot Measure 2, passed by voters in November, are beginning to sting the Forrest Dunbar campaign. In the current attack ad against opponent Dave Bronson launched by supporters of Forrest Dunbar, the disclaimer at the end of the ad admits that “A majority of contributions to Building a Stronger […]

Montana has among the country’s strictest donation limits for nearly every type of contribution to individual candidates, be it at the statewide or district level.

Sonoma County officials said Bill Gallaher’s infusion of $295,000 into a recall campaign against Jill Ravitch violates local spending limits. An attorney for the developer says the spending limits are unconstitutional.

Jan. 6 didn’t end corporate PAC contributions, and sunlight isn’t the best disinfectant.

Questions again arise about what special interests receive for the large donations they make to Utah legislators.

With Aurora joining Denver, Fort Collins and Lakewood in revamping rules on campaign finance in local races, four of the state’s five most populous cities will have controls on the books.

New York is set to implement a new public campaign financing program that will match small-dollar donations, allowing candidates to rely on the support of everyday New Yorkers rather than wealthy d…

Share with friendsA state law limiting certain contributions to local elected leaders survived an initial court challenge. Thursday, a Sacramento Superior Court judge rejected a challenge to SB 1439 from several business groups. The law — which took effect on Jan. 1 — allows only political contributions of up to $250 for those who have […]

Pay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Thursday. When Herschel Walker emailed a representative for billionaire industrialist and longtime family friend Dennis Washington in March 2022, he seemed to be engaging in normal behavior for a political candidate: He was asking for money. But unbeknownst to Washington and the billionaire’s staff, Walker’s request was far more out of...

If signed, new bill would cap donations from individuals at $400 and donations from small-donor committees at $4,000 in municipal elections, among other requirements.

The Berger Action Fund is a nondescript name for a group with a rather specific purpose: steering the wealth of a Swiss billionaire, Hansjörg Wyss, into the world of American

The largest and fastest growing segment of the electorate is now independent voters — but pollsters and political scientists haven’t caught up.

Without immediate income and spending disclosure in all political races, our brave new world will look a lot like the one reformers say they are trying to fix.

The staff of the Alaska Public Offices Commission is set the campaign contribution limit at $1,500 from an individual to a candidate, now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out the previous $500 limit, which was in statute. The Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court said the $500 limit is unreasonable, and […]

Language tucked into a bill on ballot-measure donors preempts lower city and county campaign contribution limits that had been enacted by voters.

Republican states with major democratic metropolitan centers forestall local efforts to reform election law.

A new California law takes aim at 'pay-to-play' in which special interests make campaign contributions to local officials to sway a decision.

Legislation introduced by North Smithfield Republican Brian Newberry would raise the $1,000 annual individual contribution limit to $2,000.

State lawmakers who helped pass anti-LGBTQ+ bills raked in contributions from companies that condemned legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

In the waning hours of the 2023 state legislative session, Albany lawmakers are passing bills upending local elections, rolling back a campaign finance reform, sealing criminal convictions and much more. Here's the latest.