Sittenfeld v. United States – Campaign Contributions as Crimes?
No Quorum, No Problem? Navigating the FEC Freeze
Video: Artificial Intelligence Use in Political Campaigns
Early Returns Law & Politics Podcast with Jan Baran - Wes Bizzell: The Role of Corporate America and Associations in Politics
[Podcast] New Year, New PAC: Have a Successful PAC Audit in 2023
Patient Steering and Charting
Early Returns Podcast - Jan Baran, Jessica Furst Johnson and Jason Torchinsky - Political Lawyers Take a Deeper Dive into 2022 Elections and Look Ahead to 2024
The Supreme Court may soon accept a pivotal case – Sittenfeld v. United States – that could redefine when a political contribution becomes a crime. In this two-minute video, Caleb Burns discusses how the outcome of this case...more
Corporations often establish federal political action committees (PACs) to support the election of officials who are aligned with their businesses’ policy goals. PACs are necessary because the Federal Election Campaign Act...more
The following summarizes periodic pay-to-play reporting requirements under laws in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Rhode Island. Certain companies must file reports regarding their business...more
On January 30, 2025, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released new, inflation-adjusted contribution limits for the 2025-2026 election cycle. Federal law limits the amounts and sources of campaign contributions from...more
The Federal Election Commission announced updated contribution limits for the 2025-2026 election cycle...more
As published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2025, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has followed the statutory dictates and raised the federal individual contribution limits to account for inflation. The new...more
A Lookback at the Federal Election Commission in 2024 by: Matt Petersen - Now that the presidential election has concluded and 2024 is drawing to a close, it is worth looking back at one of the most consequential years for...more
Now that the 2024 election has passed, individuals and organizations must be mindful of special legal issues that arise from contributions made to, and expenses incurred for, federal, state or local inaugural or transition...more
All federally registered PACs are required to file post-general election reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by midnight EST on Thursday, December 5, regardless of their activity. This includes both monthly and...more
Since the early days of the internet, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has kept its hands off of unpaid online political expression. Though federal campaign finance law generally treats paid online communications as...more
With the current election cycle in full swing, emotions are running high about the rapidly evolving presidential contest, whether the House or the Senate (or both!) will flip, and what effect any of that have on down-ballot...more
On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) censured and imposed a $60,000 civil penalty on Wayzata Investment Partners LLC (Wayzata) for violating SEC Rule 206(4)-5 (the Pay-to-Play Rule). Under the...more
Ohio’s campaign finance reporting deadlines were updated for 2024, please find the latest deadlines and other campaign finance compliance information on the chart here....more
The Federal Election Commission has issued an advisory opinion making it much easier for federal candidates to offload their paid canvassing programs onto state PACs, nonprofits, and super PACs. ...more
On March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Lindke v. Freed and a per curiam opinion in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier addressing when a public official may prevent a person from commenting on the public...more
With the 2024 election in full swing, political actors are using artificial intelligence in unprecedented ways. Join us as we explore the transformative potential of AI in shaping electoral strategies while learning about how...more
The 2024 presidential nominating conventions are only a few months away and both host cities — Milwaukee, where Republicans will gather in July, and Chicago, which welcomes Democrats in August — are hoping for returns to...more
Welcome to Compliance Notes from Nossaman’s Government Relations & Regulation Group – a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving campaign finance, lobbying compliance,...more
On January 11, the FEC approved an advisory opinion allowing a federal candidate or officeholder to establish a state leadership PAC (S-LPACs) that will engage solely in state and local (i.e., nonfederal) elections and ballot...more
With the new year comes an opportunity to review and re-set the political-law compliance for campaigns, PACs, lobbyists, businesses, and individuals. The following checklist provides a brief overview of upcoming dates on the...more
As far back as 1995, The Simpsons established that you don't win friends with salad. Even though you may not make any friends with salad, it still has a monetary value. This dichotomy can actually teach us something...more
With the start of a new year come ample fundraising opportunities for upcoming elections. As a result, it is important to understand the rules around donating and becoming aware of certain contribution limits. If you plan to...more
Political activity and lobbying have become not only full time, but also highly regulated. That also means that election campaigns as well as lobbying activities are getting under way for the next election cycle. To talk...more