—Richard Albert, Boston College Law School
In collaboration with Jamie Raskin, I have organized a program at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools on the future of electoral campaign finance in the aftermath of the defeat of the 28th Amendment. The program is scheduled for Sunday, January 4, at 4:00pm at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel, the conference venue, in Washington, D.C.
In June 2013, Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) proposed what could have become the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution. It would have authorized Congress and the states to regulate fundraising and spending in federal elections and to distinguish between natural persons and corporate entities. Had the amendment been approved through Article V, it would have effectively reversed the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission.
The amendment proposal was ultimately defeated just a few months ago in September 2014 in a party-line vote, but not before two-dozen Republican senators joined with their Democratic counterparts to approve the proposal for debate by a margin of 79-18.
In light of the recent defeat of this measure, the question must be asked: what do we do now that the 28th Amendment has been defeated, if indeed we want to moderate the influence of money in elections?
Of course, some/many/most of us, might not want to moderate the influence of money in elections. But assume we do. Then what? What are the possibilities for reform?
Here are the participants in this program:
1. Joshua Douglas
University of Kentucky College of Law
2. Joseph Fishkin
University of Texas School of Law
3. Lawrence Lessig
Harvard Law School
4. Eugene Mazo
Wake Forest University School of Law
5. Spencer Overton
George Washington University Law School
6. Jamin Raskin
American University Washington College of Law
7. Bradley Smith
Capital University Law School/West Virginia University College of Law
8. Zephyr Teachout
Fordham University School of Law
9. Franita Tolson
Florida State University College of Law
10. Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
Stetson University College of Law
11. Richard Albert
Boston College Law School
More information on the Annual Meeting in general and this program in particular is available here.
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