Leaked Audio Suggests Koch's AFP Violated Law During Walker Recall
Leaked audio from a donor summit suggests that David Koch's AFT may have violated its charitable status during the state's 2012 recall elections.
Election 2012
Revealed: Extensive Koch Links to New Right-Wing $250 Million Mega Fund
Freedom Partners (FP) -- a funding group previously unheard of before it shared exclusive and highly selective details about itself with Politico last week -- has extensive hidden connections to Koch Industries and to charities connected to Charles Koch, according to new research by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).
WI Legislature Fast-Tracking "War on Democracy" Bill, Business Lobby Misleads on Disclosure Provisions
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are fast-tracking a controversial bill to keep political donors secret, enact voter ID, and limit early voting, among other measures, with a vote scheduled for next week. The only public hearing on the bill was held Tuesday, where a representative of the business lobby made several misleading assertions about the bill's disclosure provisions.
"True the Vote," the Victim? Voter Vigilante Group Says IRS Targeted Its "Verify the Recall" Effort in Wisconsin
The Texas-based Tea Party group True the Vote is claiming they were one of the groups inappropriately "targeted" by the IRS since their application for charitable status has been delayed for years. Although many Tea Party groups were singled-out by the IRS for improper reasons, there may be good reasons for the agency to take a close look at True the Vote's application for charitable status, particularly given the group's involvement with the Wisconsin "Verify the Recall" effort.
Did Backlash Against GOP Voter Suppression Increase Black Voter Turnout?
Black voter turnout in the 2012 elections surpassed white turnout for the first time in history, despite -- or perhaps because of -- a concerted effort to enact new voter restrictions that would have disproportionately affected communities of color.
Sen. Sanders and Rep. Deutch Press for New Democracy Amendment
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) have introduced a new constitutional amendment to overturn the damage done by Citizens United, Buckley v. Valeo, and other judicial decisions that have diluted the role of ordinary people in American democracy.
U.S. Supreme Court Considers ALEC Voting Bill; Could Have Broader Implications for Voting Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on March 18 to decide whether an Arizona statute that imposes restrictions on voter registration conflicts with federal law. The case could potentially decide the balance between the state and federal governments when it comes to elections and voting rights. After becoming law in Arizona, the bill at issue was adopted as a "model" by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
We Can Fix This? In SOTU, Obama Shoves Voting Reform into 'Sock Drawer,' Leaving Many Disappointed
President Obama announced plans for a nonpartisan commission to "improve the Election Day experience" in his State of the Union address, a response to the long lines and heavy burdens that states imposed on voters during the 2012 elections. But his proposal -- which some have called "the policy equivalent of a sock drawer" -- falls short of what many had hoped.
Wisconsin's "Shameful" Gerrymander of 2012
The GOP's partisan redistricting process has come under renewed scrutiny in recent months, with gerrymandered maps helping Republicans hold Congress despite receiving fewer votes than Democrats, and state legislators discussing plans to rig the presidential election by awarding electoral votes according to those contorted boundaries. But out of all the states re-drawing Congressional boundaries along partisan lines after the 2010 elections, Wisconsin's gerrymandering may have been the most egregious.
“Elections Confidential” Report Reveals Role of Dark Money Nonprofits and Shell Corporations in 2012
CONTACTS: Brendan Fischer, brendan@prwatch.org / Blair Bowie, bbowie@pirg.org
Nearly One-Fifth of All Business Gifts to Super Pacs Were Contributed by Shell Corporations
MADISON, WI — Mystery donors poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2012 elections via nonprofits and shell corporations, despite widespread public support for disclosure and decades of legal precedent supporting the public's right to know the sources of election-related spending.
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