campaign finance
Economic inequality keeps getting worse, along with America’s toxic, corrupt politics
The most reliable economic fact for nearly 50 years is that American wealth and income inequality continues to explode. Alongside that we’ve seen rampant corruption and the toxic debasement of our politics. Meanwhile, hard-working Ohio and American families continue to suffer enormous hardship from poverty wages; childhood and family hunger; limited access to basic personal […]
David Hecker: Corporations should stop funding politicians who back voter suppression
Sometimes it is hard to live our values. We try hard to do so, and I for one, know that at times I falter. But while slipping at times is understandable, there are lines we must strive never to cross. Voting rights is not a complicated issue. It’s a question of fundamental values — justice, […]
Campaign watchdogs sue Vance campaign, super PAC over alleged covert website scheme
The Campaign Legal Center and End Citizens United are suing J.D. Vance’s campaign committee and the super PAC Protecting Ohio Values for alleged illegal in-kind contributions during this year’s U.S. Senate primary election. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week, was first reported by The Daily Beast. It points to a covert website, uncovered by Politico […]
Campaign finance and pay-to-play corruption is also destroying the American Republic
Gerrymandered rigging of district lines to guarantee political party power is not the only thing posing an existential threat to the American Republic. It goes hand-in-hand with a system of campaign finance that allows for massive pay-to-play corruption infecting government. Earlier this week the Ohio Capital Journal published an investigation into findings of immediate jeopardy […]
‘Anti-Corruption Act’ would target dark money spending in Ohio
Should nonprofit organizations that spend money on Ohio elections be forced to publicly disclose who funds them? Some lawmakers say yes and are trying once again to change the state’s campaign finance law in an effort to make political spending more transparent. State Reps. Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, and Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Cleveland, have reintroduced […]
Bill seeks to end ‘dark money’ spending in Ohio elections
Republican lawmakers are proposing to revamp some of Ohio’s campaign finance laws that would shine a light on “dark money” groups. Public officials from both parties have called for reforms in the wake of the House Bill 6 scandal, which saw the speaker of the Ohio House arrested as well as widespread attention paid to […]
Lawmaker’s alleged campaign finance violations to be heard by elections commission
The Ohio Elections Commission voted Thursday to hear a case alleging a Republican state representative committed several campaign finance violations ahead of the 2020 General Election. Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred several “potential” violations involving state Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, to the Ohio Elections Commission in August. LaRose’s office, which oversees elections and campaign […]
Politicians quit Congress, but their ‘zombie’ campaigns stagger on with millions in the bank
WASHINGTON — Republican Michele Bachmann hasn’t set foot in the U.S. Capitol as an elected member of Congress from Minnesota for at least six years. Though she recently made news for asking God to help reelect President Donald Trump and telling a television show that “transgender Black Marxists” are trying to overthrow the country, none […]
Mysterious ‘pop-up PACs’ targeting races throughout country in final days of campaign
WASHINGTON — A super PAC financed tens of thousands of dollars worth of digital ads in late October soliciting allegations that North Carolina Senate hopeful Cal Cunningham engaged in extramarital affairs. But because of a loophole in campaign finance laws that were written in the era of typewriters, voters won’t know who paid for the […]
LaRose refers 162 campaign finance violations against Householder and others in FirstEnergy scandal
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office has identified more than 150 alleged campaign finance violations related to former Speaker of the House Larry Householder and the House Bill 6 scandal. Householder and four others were arrested July 21 as part of a federal investigation called the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history. Secretary of State […]
Mailbag: Answering reader questions about Householder and the bribery scandal
Clad in camouflage from head to toe, Larry Householder aimed his weapon at a television screen across an empty field. That box had it coming, a Householder voiceover intimated, what with all the unfair attacks leveled against him. “A dark money group is airing deceitful ads against me,” Householder said. “They’re anti-Trump gun grabbers and […]
Bipartisan Ohio campaign finance reform bill has secretary of state’s support
If you can follow the money, state Rep. Gayle Manning reasons, you can follow what’s going on. That’s the main drive behind a new bill proposed by Manning, R-North Ridgeville, and Rep. Jessica Miranda, D-Forest Park, which seeks to reform Ohio’s campaign finance landscape through shining light on anonymous political spending. Their House Bill 737 […]