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Blog
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Welcome to the Holtzman Vogel Law Blog. We aim to keep you
up to date on important legal developments and other items of interest. On this
blog, we'll track developments in the news and changes to the rules and regulations
affecting political committees, corporate PACs, trade associations, non-profit groups
and advocacy organizations. We'll also keep you updated on the lobbying and ethics
arena. The Law Blog is designed to supplement our regular newsletter.
On behalf of the Holtzman Vogel team, I hope you find this site helpful and interesting.
And we hope you'll become a regular visitor. (If you'd like to receive our newsletter,
please click here to sign up.)
Jill Holtzman Vogel
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Monday, July 12, 2010
Fox News: Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds
Fox News reports " The six-month election recount that turned former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities. That's the finding of an 18-month study conducted by Minnesota Majority, a conservative watchdog group, which found that at least 341 convicted felons in largely Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul voted illegally in the 2008 Senate race between Franken, a Democrat, and his Republican opponent, then-incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman. The final recount vote in the race, determined six months after Election Day, showed Franken beat Coleman by 312 votes -- fewer votes than the number of felons whose illegal ballots were counted, according to Minnesota Majority's newly released study, which matched publicly available conviction lists with voting records."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Minnesota Corporations Sue For Contribution Rights
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports "backers of Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer are seeking to overturn a Minnesota law barring corporations from contributing directly to campaigns and parties. State law now allows corporations to spend money independently of campaigns on ads supporting or opposing candidates, an arrangement that the U.S. Supreme Court approved early this year. But the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life and Coastal Travel Enterprises seek to go beyond that ruling and allow direct contributions to candidates by corporations."
The lawsuit is backed by Jim Bopp's James Madison Center: "The case is before the Honorable Donovan Frank, District Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, in Minneapolis. The case number is 10-CV-2938 DWF/JSM, and is known as MCCL v. Swanson. The complaint may be viewed at www.jamesmadisoncenter.org/."
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Federal Judge Applies Citizens United Decision To Minnesota's Campaign Laws
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports "In a ruling with broad implications for political advertising, a federal judge on Friday declared unconstitutional Minnesota's restrictions on spending by corporations to support or oppose state and local political candidates....The ruling was widely expected because it conforms with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision clearing the way for such corporate spending in federal races."
We previously noted the case ( MN Chamber of Commerce v. Gaertner) here.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
USA Today: States weigh campaign-finance changes
From USA Today: "State lawmakers around the country are rushing to rewrite campaign-finance laws following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that opened the door to unlimited corporate and union money in elections and upended laws in nearly half the states." With brief updates from Iowa, Maryland, Arizona, Minnesota and Colorado.
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
MinnPost: Minnesota Chamber lawsuit seeks clarity, and state conformity, on high court's campaign finance ruling
MinnPost.com has this piece on the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce's Citizens United-based challenge to Minnesota's campaign finance laws. (We noted the lawsuit here.) An excerpt: "The Chamber wants a federal judge to issue a declaratory judgment saying Minnesota's laws must square with the [ Citizens United] decision, which says corporations and labor unions may spend unlimited sums so long as they do so independently of the candidates whose races they seek to influence. More specifically, the chamber is concerned about a passage in state law that bans indirect corporate contributions to candidates. It wants the court to rule that so-called independent expenditures do not violate this provision."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Pioneer Press: Businesses sue over campaign decision
Minnesota's Pioneer Press reports " The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is asking a federal judge to clarify the extent to which corporations can now participate in Minnesota's elections, a development with potentially profound implications for the 2010 governor's race. The group, which represents the state's business interests, wants clarification on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision freeing up corporate participation in elections that was harshly criticized by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union speech last month. . . . The filing of the Minnesota case, which seeks a declaratory judgment from the federal courts spelling out what is legal and what is not in the state, is also a sign that Minnesota's business community plans to exercise its newfound rights."
Thursday, February 11, 2010
CQ Politics: Minnesota Poised to Move Primary Election Date
CQ Politics reports that a state legislative committee "approved a bill to change the primary date from Sept. 14 to Aug. 10, sending the legislation to the state House floor. The state Senate must also vote on the bill. MPR reports that Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) supports the move, which would keep Minnesota from brushing up against federal law that requires at least a 45-day period for absentee ballots to be mailed in and counted for primaries and general elections."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
New York Times: Court Rules Franken Has Won Senate Seat
From the Times: "The Minnesota Supreme Court has just issued its long-awaited judgment in the Senate race, declaring that Democrat Al Franken is the winner. The 32-page unanimous decision by the state’s highest court was released after a seven-months long battle over the seat formerly held by Norm Coleman. On every ground, the judicial panel rejected Mr. Coleman’s claims of trial errors or constitutional violations, and decided that Mr. Franken’s election should be certified by the state as valid."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
CQ Politics: Judges: Franken the Winner in Minnesota
From CQ Politics: "A Minnesota trial court unanimously ruled Monday that Democrat Al Franken is the winner in Minnesota’s long-running Senate race, rejecting Republican Norm Coleman’s lawsuit challenging the results of a recount."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
CQ Politics: Ballot Review Gives Franken Solid Advantage
From CQ Politics: "Democrat Al Franken’s lead in Minnesota’s long-disputed Senate race increased to 312 votes Tuesday, making it mathematically impossible for Norm Coleman to win his state trial challenging the election outcome. A three-judge panel appointed by the state Supreme Court is expected to rule this week that Franken won the race."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Politico: Franken puts Pawlenty in a jam
From Politico: "Franken won big Tuesday when a three-judge panel allowed the review of no more than 400 absentee ballots in a race he currently leads by 225 votes. Coleman’s camp says an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court is coming; once that’s done, the dispute lands in Pawlenty’s lap. If Franken’s ahead at that point, Pawlenty will have a choice: sign the election certificate that will allow Democrats to seat Franken in the Senate or play to the Republicans whose support he’d need in 2012 by withholding the certificate while Coleman challenges the election in the federal court system."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Politico: Court leaves Coleman with little hope
Politico reports on developments in the ongoing Minnesota Senate litigation. "After seven weeks of reviewing a hand recount, millions spent on legal fees and a tough legal ruling Tuesday afternoon, Norm Coleman still looks like the loser in the Minnesota Senate race. But even as Democrat Al Franken’s campaign celebrated a three-judge panel’s decision to put at most 400 ballots back in play, the Coleman camp is still promising to take its case to the Minnesota Supreme Court. And it’s not ruling out an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or filing a new lawsuit in federal district court."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Washington Post: Minn. Senate Race Is In Judges' Hands Now; Decision Could Come Within Days
From the Washington Post: "Nearly five months after 2.9 million voters cast ballots, the Senate race between Al Franken (D) and Norm Coleman (R) is in the hands of a three-judge panel here after first one candidate and then the other declared victory."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Politico: GOP eyes Bush v. Gore to save Coleman seat
From Politico: "A state court could rule any day now on Norm Coleman’s challenge to Al Franken’s 225-vote lead in Minnesota, but the race may be far from over no matter what the judges say. Top Republicans are encouraging Coleman to be as litigious as possible and take his fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if he loses this round, believing that an elongated court fight is worth it if they can continue to deny Democrats the 59th Senate seat that Franken would represent."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Hill: Ruling may not be enough to fill Minn. Senate seat
The Hill explains that "A three-judge panel has the result of the Minnesota Senate race in its hands, at least for the time being. But that doesn’t mean Minnesota will have a senator anytime soon."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, March 06, 2009
CQ Politics: What About a ‘Do-Over’ in Minnesota?
From CQ Politics: "A proposal to conduct a re-vote in Minnesota’s deadlocked Senate race has stirred up some strong opinions. Republican Norm Coleman and his attorneys have suggested the state consider re-doing the Nov. 4 election because of fundamental flaws in the way the ballots have been counted."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, February 27, 2009
CQ Politics: Senate Democrats Say End Is Near for Coleman
From CQ Politics: "Senate Democratic leaders said Thursday that they see a light at the end of the tunnel in the protracted Minnesota Senate race and expressed confidence that Democrat Al Franken would fill the vacant seat in a matter of weeks."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Updates on the Minnesota Senate Election
News from Politico and CQ Politics on the status of the court battle between Norm Coleman and Al Franken.
Click here to read the entire post.
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