States Still Struggling With Voting Machines
After the 2000 election, the nation that first sent a man to the moon set for itself what seemed an attainable technological goal: ensure that states had efficient and reliable voting machines. In 2002, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which allocated nearly $3 billion to the states for election administration. But eight years later, with an election fast approaching, the system is still characterized by the same panicked improvisation.
At least $1.2 billion went towards new voting machines between 2003 and 2007, … more…
McCain Contribs Highlight Underworld of Bundling
"It just didn't sound right to us, the whole situation." That's what it came down to for the McCain campaign, a spokesman tells the New … more…
McCain Campaign Announces Review of Bundler Contributions
John McCain's campaign will be reviewing contributions from one of his major fundraisers, it announced today. That review comes after … more…
McCain Bundler’s Donors Raise Eyebrows
Seldom is a news story so full of question marks as today's Washington Post piece on Harry Sargeant III. Sargeant, who runs a major … more…
Pressure Grows to Overturn VA Voter Registration Ban
Democrats in both the House and Senate have introduced legislation to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to overturn a ban on … more…
VA’s Voter Registration Ban Faces More Opposition
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ decision earlier this year to ban all voter registration drives at VA facilities has received growing … more…
The Candidates’ Positions on Private Security Contractors
Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have both criticized private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, while they've also … more…
Political Fundraising Firm Defends Practices
To say that Brian Chavez-Ochoa was a long shot to unseat Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in 2006 is an understatement. No opponent had come … more…
D.C. Fundraising Firm Takes Big Cut of Contributions
If you want somebody to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars on your behalf and spend almost all of it, the Washington, D.C. … more…
Despite New Obama DNC Lobbyist Money Ban, Loophole Permits Millions From Big Biz for Conventions
Among the first moves Barack Obama made as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee this week was to reform the Democratic … more…
McCain Aides Resigned, But Does Their Money Stay?
On Tuesday we noted that Charlie Black, one of McCain's top aides, had lobbied extensively for a lengthy list of dictators, and special … more…
August 19, 2008
McCain Insider Allegedly Had Ties to NRA Spy Op Anna Schecter, ABC, August 19, 2008
Lobbyist Parties for Pols at Conventions Bend Rules Zachary Coile, San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2008
Ethics Rules for Convention Parties Crimp Events Leslie Wayne, New York Times, August 19, 2008
August 18, 2008
McCain Defends Adviser’s Lobbying Work Matt Kelley and David Jackson, USA Today, August 18, 2008
Corporations, Lobbyists Skirt Rules on Lavish Parties at Conventions Brody Mullins and Elizabeth Williamson, Wall Street Journal ($), August 18, 2008
Obama Campaign Solicits ‘Soft Money’ for Convention Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2008
Did Washington Waste Millions on Faulty Voting Machines? Greg Gordon, McClatchy, August 18, 2008
Election Officials: Flaws at Polls Will Remain in November Ian Urbina, New York Times, August 18, 2008
August 15, 2008
FEC Lawyers Side with McCain on Campaign Loan Matt Murray, Roll Call ($), August 15, 2008
Lobbying Filings Detail McCain Aide’s Past Work for Georgia Andrew Tilgman, TPMmuckraker, August 15, 2008