Dark money, super PACs, and the 2012 election

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (04) ◽  
pp. 52-2266-52-2266 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Super Pacs ◽  
2012 Election

The Never-ending Story of Law and Electoral System in Lesotho

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoolo Nyane
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Legal Discourse ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Mixed Electoral System ◽  
2012 Election

While electoral discontent has been the enduring feature of constitutional democracy in Lesotho since independence, disagreement over electoral system is a fairly recent phenomenon. When the country attained independence in 1966 from Britain, electoral system was not necessarily one of the topical issues of pre-independence constitutional negotiations. The major issues were the powers of the monarch, the office of prime minister, the command of the army and many more.  It was taken for granted that the country would use the British-based plurality electoral system.  This is the system which the country used until early 2000s when the electoral laws were reformed to anchor a new mixed electoral system.  When the new electoral laws were ultimately passed in 2001, the country transitioned from a plurality electoral system to a two-ballot mixed member proportional system. By this time, electoral system had acquired prominence in politico-legal discourse in Lesotho.  In the run-up to 2007 elections, bigger political parties orchestrated the manipulation of electoral laws which culminated in clearly distorted electoral outcomes. The manipulations motivated further reforms in the run-up to 2012 election which resulted in the single-ballot mixed member proportional system. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate how electoral laws have anchored electoral system reforms throughout the various historical epochs in Lesotho since independence. The paper contends that while the country has been courageous, unlike most of its peers, to introduce far-reaching electoral system changes, the reform of electoral laws has not been so helpful in attaining the higher objectives of political inclusivity, constitutionalism and stability in Lesotho.

Persistent Bias Among Local Election Officials

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-187
Author(s):  
D. Alex Hughes ◽  
Micah Gell-Redman ◽  
Charles Crabtree ◽  
Natarajan Krishnaswami ◽  
Diana Rodenberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Direct Test ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
Election Cycle ◽  
Local Election ◽  
Arab Muslim ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
2012 Election

AbstractResults of an audit study conducted during the 2016 election cycle demonstrate that bias toward Latinos observed during the 2012 election has persisted. In addition to replicating previous results, we show that Arab/Muslim Americans face an even greater barrier to communicating with local election officials, but we find no evidence of bias toward blacks. An innovation of our design allows us to measure whether e-mails were opened by recipients, which we argue provides a direct test of implicit discrimination. We find evidence of implicit bias toward Arab/Muslim senders only.

Interest Groups and Elections

2019 ◽  
pp. 339-357
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Campaign Finance ◽  
Organizational Forms ◽  
Super Pacs ◽  
New Organizational Forms ◽  
Winner Take All ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Take All

The relationships between interest groups, political parties, and elections have always been dynamic, but in recent years change has accelerated in ways that have favored some interests over others. This chapter considers these developments as the result of a variety of factors, the most critical of which are the growth of polarization, a new legal landscape for campaign finance, and new organizational forms. The chapter goes on to suggest, that as bipartisanship has ebbed, elections have become winner-take-all affairs and interest groups are pushed to choose sides. The chapter further suggests that the rise of super PACs is especially notable as wealthy individuals have become increasingly important, single sources of campaign money, supplanting in part traditional interest groups, especially conventional PACs. It concludes that even as sums spent by super PACs and other interest groups have skyrocketed, the impact of their direct spending on persuading voters remains uncertain.

scholarly journals The Role of the Party Press in the Electoral Process and Political Communication (Based on the Example of the 2012 Parliamentary Campaign)

2019 ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
Vitaliy Peresada
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Party Press ◽  
2012 Election

The article studies the role of party press in the electoral process and political communication based on the example of the elections toVerkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2012. The classical party and short-term party periodicals are analyzed according to thematic orientation, content of publications, political and ideological bias. In particular, such official print periodicals of the leading political organizations as Communist, Svoboda/Liberty, Vseukrainski Visti/All-Ukrainian News and the party short-term periodicals distributed during the 2012 parliamentary campaign, were examined. The analysis of the party’s legal press and illegal press during the parliamentary election campaign is caused by a sharp increase of its circulation and titles, as well as by the renewed interest of a wide spectrum of recipients and future voters. Methods. The following general scientific research methods were used in the article: 1. Method of abstraction, which made it possible to determine the main categories of scientific work of mass communication direction: party periodicals, hidden party press, election periodicals, etc. The modeling method by which the role of party press in the election campaign was highlighted, which stipulated the influence on the voter’s final will. The method of analysis that provided a systematic study of the functional purpose of party periodicals in the election campaign. The method of induction and deduction, which contributed to a clearer definition of the party press role in information support of the election campaign. The study also used a comparison method. Results and conclusions. The study ascertained that in the 2012 election campaign, the party periodicals played a prominent role, which, however, was far from clear. Most of participants of the electoral process underestimated or neglected the importance of official party print media, focusing on the publications of alternative, cheap and primitive products (special issues, newsletters, etc.). Due to its bias, the party periodicals could not give the voters an objective idea of of electoral process and intra-party tendencies, all the more to form their conscious choices. The electoral practice of party periodicals showed mass inadequacy in solving typical propaganda tasks (declarativism, populism, meeting rhetoric, emphasis on supplementary aspects, etc.). The wide spread practice of the 2012 election campaign was the use of unethical methods of cross-party competition (“jeans” and “smearpiece”) as well as the use of semi-legal and illegal publications for public opinion’ provocations and manipulations.

Gender Differences in Reactions to Fact Checking of Negative Commercials

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 369-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim L. Fridkin ◽  
Jillian Courey ◽  
Samantha Hernandez ◽  
Joshua Spears
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Washington Post ◽  
Election Cycle ◽  
Political Advertisements ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Senate Election ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Negative Ads ◽  
2012 Election

One of most negative campaigns in history may have taken place during the 2014 Senate election cycle. Nearly 75% of senate ads aired during a two-week period in early fall of 2014 showed a candidate in a negative light, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. A postelection analysis by the Center for Public Integrity showed that 46% of the more than one million ads aired during the 2014 senate campaigns were negative. And, in the most competitive states, the proportion of negative ads was even higher (e.g., 67% in North Carolina, 58% in Kansas). Negative advertisements sponsored by candidates, interest groups, and political parties are being launched on the airways, in newspapers, on radio, and via the Internet at an unprecedented pace. These advertisements, however, are now routinely subjected to fact checking.The Washington Post, along with many other fact-checking organizations, such as PolitiFact, The AP Factcheck, and Factcheck.org, examine thousands of statements and political advertisements during campaigns to determine the accuracy of the claims. For instance, during the 2012 election cycle, PolitiFact had 36 reporters and editors working in 11 states producing more than 800 fact checks on the presidential campaign and hundreds more for candidates running for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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