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Oregonians vote to end their era of free-flowing money in politics

Oregon voter

Nearly 80 percent of Oregon voters supported a constitutional amendment allowing curbs on campaign contributions and spending.

Ankur Dholakia/Getty Images

Tuesday's election yielded two wins and one probable loss for those who say that curbing the influence of money in politics is key to a better democracy.

By far the most significant victory for that cause was in Oregon, which voted overwhelmingly to allow the state to limit campaign contributions and spending — and reverse some of the nation's most permissive campaign financing rules. And a couple of symbolic new limits were approved Tuesday in Missouri. But a package including new curbs on gifts to campaigns was facing rejection in Alaska.


The Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United ruling a decade ago said corporations, nonprofits and unions have a First Amendment right to spend as much as they want to help elect or defeat candidates for Congress or president. But since then, more than a handful of states have moved to tighten the flow of cash coursing through their own campaigns for statewide, legislative and local offices.

Here are the details on the three measures on the ballot this week:

Oregon

There was no organized opposition to the ballot referendum, which secured 79 percent support — ending decades of stalemate on the issue.

The measure adds language to the state Constitution making plain that restrictions on contributions and spending are permitted at all levels of government — as are rules requiring campaigns to be transparent about who is funding them.

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Its approval will make campaign finance legislation a high-profile topic in the Legislature next year. Proponents of the ballot measure say that, if strict new rules to curb big money and favor small-dollar donations are not produced fast, they will try to force Salem's hand with another referendum two years from now.

Oregon is one of just five states that sets no limits on how much money candidates can receive from donors, the result of a state Supreme Court decision in 1997 that political contributions are a form of free speech under the state Constitution. A proposal to change that was rejected by voters in 2006, but the campaign was revived two years ago after a not very competitive race for governor was fueled with more than $40 million in gifts.

The arguments over the measure were familiar. Advocates talked about the overdue need to combat potential corruption and reduce the power of the wealthy and special interests. The grassroots opponents said the result would stifle political debate.

Missouri

Two marginal curbs to political money in Jefferson City were appended to a ballot measure that was mainly focused on changing the rules for redistricting — by reversing the voters' 2018 demand that the lines be drawn to ensure partisan fairness. It was approved with just 51 percent of the vote.

The measure will ban even the token gifts from lobbyists that are now permitted — just $5 to buy legislators a soda or maybe a ticket to a pancake breakfast. It will also lower the limit on donations to candidates for the 34 state Senate seats — but by just $100, to $2,400. And the new curb does not touch the contribution ceiling for the 163 state House races.

Alaska

The outcome of the broadest democracy reform initiative on the ballot this year remained grim if uncertain Thursday, and will stay that way until next week. With votes cast in person early and on Election Day tallied — almost three-fifths the expected total -- the proposal was being rejected by 65 percent of Alaskans. The 55,000 vote gap could shift and potentially be reversed, however, when 152,000 mailed ballots are opened and counted starting Tuesday.

In addition to open primaries and ranked-choice voting, the initiative would also require advocacy groups that make contributions for or against candidates for state offices to disclose their donors. These types of "dark money" groups currently don't have to reveal their funding sources. And it would require disclaimers on campaign advertising by organizations funded by mostly out-of-state money.

Strengthening these disclosure requirements, proponents say, will help bolster transparency around the groups or individuals influencing Alaska's elections.

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The American Schism in 2025: The New Cultural Revolution

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The American Schism in 2025: The New Cultural Revolution

A common point of bewilderment today among many of Trump’s “establishment” critics is the all too tepid response to Trump’s increasingly brazen shattering of democratic norms. True, he started this during his first term, but in his second, Trump seems to relish the weaponization of his presidency to go after his enemies and to brandish his corrupt dealings, all under the Trump banner (e.g. cyber currency, Mideast business dealings, the Boeing 747 gift from Qatar). Not only does Trump conduct himself with impunity but Fox News and other mainstream media outlets barely cover them at all. (And when left-leaning media do, the interest seems to wane quickly.)

Here may be the source of the puzzlement: the left intelligentsia continues to view and characterize MAGA as a political movement, without grasping its transcendence into a new dominant cultural order. MAGA rose as a counter-establishment partisan drive during Trump’s 2016 campaign and subsequent first administration; however, by the 2024 election, it became evident that MAGA was but the eye of a full-fledged cultural shift, in some ways akin to Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

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As the United States deepens its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships abroad, it is moving fast — signing deals, building labs, and exporting tools. Recently, President Donald Trump announced sweeping AI collaborations with Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These agreements, worth billions, are being hailed as historic moments for digital diplomacy and technological leadership.

But amid the headlines and handshakes, I keep asking the same question: where is child protection in all of this?

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Following months of research, canvassing, and listening to community needs, journalists, including Britton Struthers-Lugo, produced solutions-based stories about the challenges faced by the Berwyn, Illinois, community.

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Proposed Proof-of-Citizenship Bill Could Impact All Registered Voters in Texas

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Proposed Proof-of-Citizenship Bill Could Impact All Registered Voters in Texas

Voting rights advocates in Texas are speaking out against a proof-of-citizenship bill before lawmakers.

Senate Bill 16 would require new registrants and some existing registered voters to prove they are U.S. citizens.

Amber Mills, issue advocacy director for the Move Texas Civic Fund, said the requirement would be in addition to what the state already does to check someone's eligibility.

"When you're completing a voter form, you do also have to submit either your driver's license number or your Social Security number," Mills pointed out. "That's really important because that is how the state verifies who you are, and that's a key indicator that they use to protect their databases on the back end."

Even if you were born in the U.S., the bill could require you to show proof of citizenship with a passport or birth certificate matching your current name. According to the Secure Democracy Foundation, more than 38% percent of rural and small-town Texans do not have a passport.

Anyone who cannot prove citizenship would be placed on a separate voter roll and could only cast ballots in the U.S. House and Senate races.

Emily French, policy director for the advocacy group Common Cause Texas, said the additional barriers could prevent many residents from casting their votes in local, state and presidential races.

"All the DPS systems, all the immigration systems which say that they are citizens, but there can still be mistakes that mark them as noncitizens and could throw them off the voter rolls until they come in with these documents that they don't have," French explained.

The bill directs the Texas Secretary of State's Office to check all registered voters' status by the end of the year and send the names of registered voters who have not proven their citizenship before September 2025 to county elections offices.

Mills noted if you are flagged, there is no online system to comply with the request and all paperwork must be submitted in person.

"We are not disputing the goal of having only eligible citizens on the voter rolls, but we know that Texas already has strong systems in place," Mills emphasized. "It's ultimately the state's responsibility, the county's responsibility to do these voter roll checks, but what SB 16 would do is not change any of that, not improve any of that. It would just add an additional burden."

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