There was an interesting story in today’s sentinel about a group trying to oust Colorado justices. The group is right leaning, and wants to Clear the Bench—in fact that is the group’s name.
I’m somewhat sympathetic to the organizers when they complain about being uncertain about campaign finance rules. The rules are relatively new and require seeking advice from the Secretary of State’s office about some issues.
Two examples that come to mind are:
1. When does the campaign declare a volunteer’s time as an in-kind donation?
2. How does one determine the fair market value of in-kind donations, such as food prepared by a hostess for a meet and greet?
In the case reported by Charles Ashby, organizers of a group dedicated to ousting judges filed with the Secretary of State as an issues committee. The judge ruled that they are a candidate committee because judges are candidates in the context of the ballot question about retaining them. This is an important distinction because the maximum donation allowed differs depending on the type of committee that is organized.
Which all brings me back to why I think it is a great idea to have mail in ballots—especially in this internet age. I recommend sitting down in front of your computer with your ballot and spending a lot of time with Google searches. You can see who is funding which issues campaign and which candidate by going to the Secretary of State’s website. Then you can ask yourself if the funders have an agenda that matches your own. You can Google judges names and see what rulings they have issued on what cases, and see if they make sense. You can Google candidates names and see what they’ve accomplished. Once you are informed about the candidates and issues, you can fill out your ballot and mail it back in, knowing that you are voting in a way that furthers your own best interests.
Homework:
Story about Campaign Finance Ruling
Starting Place to Look for Campaign & Issue Committee Donations
Starting Point for Getting Mail-in Ballots
I’m somewhat sympathetic to the organizers when they complain about being uncertain about campaign finance rules. The rules are relatively new and require seeking advice from the Secretary of State’s office about some issues.
Two examples that come to mind are:
1. When does the campaign declare a volunteer’s time as an in-kind donation?
2. How does one determine the fair market value of in-kind donations, such as food prepared by a hostess for a meet and greet?
In the case reported by Charles Ashby, organizers of a group dedicated to ousting judges filed with the Secretary of State as an issues committee. The judge ruled that they are a candidate committee because judges are candidates in the context of the ballot question about retaining them. This is an important distinction because the maximum donation allowed differs depending on the type of committee that is organized.
Which all brings me back to why I think it is a great idea to have mail in ballots—especially in this internet age. I recommend sitting down in front of your computer with your ballot and spending a lot of time with Google searches. You can see who is funding which issues campaign and which candidate by going to the Secretary of State’s website. Then you can ask yourself if the funders have an agenda that matches your own. You can Google judges names and see what rulings they have issued on what cases, and see if they make sense. You can Google candidates names and see what they’ve accomplished. Once you are informed about the candidates and issues, you can fill out your ballot and mail it back in, knowing that you are voting in a way that furthers your own best interests.
Homework:
Story about Campaign Finance Ruling
Starting Place to Look for Campaign & Issue Committee Donations
Starting Point for Getting Mail-in Ballots
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