Experts discuss role independent spending plays in campaign finance

Who pays for the political attack ads you see on TV? The candidates say they’ve got nothing to do with it. Seemingly independent groups on both sides are attacking each other’ candidates. Where do they get their money and what, if anything, can or should be done about it?

These questions and more are muddying the waters of this year’ presidential election. To address these issues, Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley E. Smith and Professors Edward B. Foley and Donald Tobin of the Moritz College of Law will take part in a discussion titled “Money and Politics 2004: New Rules, New Practices.”

The event is set for noon on Wednesday (9/15) in the Saxbe Auditorium of Drinko Hall, 55 West 12th Ave. The event is open to the public. In addition, a webcast of the event can be viewed from http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/.

The panel discussion is part of Election Law @ Moritz, a program devoted to in-depth, timely and scholarly analysis of election law issues. In addition to the speaker series, the project has developed The e-Book on Election Law, a searchable web-based book that explains election related laws and procedures. For more information, see http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/.

WHAT: Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley E. Smith and Moritz College of Law Professors Edward B. Foley and Donald Tobin will take part in a discussion on campaign finance.

WHEN: Noon on Wednesday (9/15)

WHERE: Saxbe Auditorium of Drinko Hall, 55 West 12th Ave.

WHY: To examine the role independent spending plays in campaign finance