A Democratic Super PAC’s New Trump Ad Might Be Borderline Criminal
From Slate:
A new ad by a Super PAC in Pennsylvania is encouraging Trump supporters to not use mail-in voting, which could arguably be a violation of federal laws against voter suppression. The ad consists solely of footage of Trump attacking mail-in voting, encouraging his supporters to not vote by mail. Despite featuring only footage of President Trump and being directed at his supporters, the ad is funded by Pennsylvania Values, a Super PAC aligned with Democrats, and is a clear attempt by the PAC to reduce the Trump vote in PA.
Florida’s Marijuana Ballot Measure Keeps Breaking Fundraising Records
From OpenSecrets:
Florida is on its fifth attempt to legalize marijuana by ballot initiative, and the campaign is already breaking fundraising records. More than $40 million has been raised solely by Smart & Safe Florida, the committee behind the measure, surpassing the record set by eight separate committees in 2016, which raised $36.7 million to support California’s Proposition 64 campaign to legalize marijuana. A significant amount of the money, unsurprisingly, comes from medical marijuana companies, including Truelive, a corporation which has given Smart & Safe Florida 85% of its funding this cycle.
Crypto industry super PAC is 33-2 in primaries, with $100 million for House, Senate races
From CNBC:
Fairshake PAC, a group backed by the cryptocurrency industry with more than $100 million in the bank, is seeing its investments pay off this primary season. More than half a dozen candidates backed by the PAC won their June primaries, including George Latimer, who defeated incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman in New York. The group rarely runs ads that directly mention or advocate for crypto, instead focusing on vague values like “fairness and integrity.” The industry is pushing to be seen as more mature and responsible, particularly following the spectacular multibillion dollar collapse of crypto exchange FTX on election day in 2022.
Judge upholds fines levied against ranked choice opponents for campaign finance violations
From the Anchorage Daily News:
An Alaska judge recently upheld fines that were imposed on groups that attempted to repeal Alaska’s ranked choice voting system. The ballot group, Alaskans for Honest Elections, gathered signatures in an attempt to put a repeal measure on the ballot this year. Most of the funding for the group came through another entity that classified itself as a tax-exempt religious organization called the Ranked Choice Education Association (it is unclear what religious denomination they claimed to be). The founder of the group did not dispute the fact that he did funnel contributions through the RCEA, but argued that the reporting requirements he violated were a violation of his First Amendment rights, an argument the judge did not accept.
