Secretary of State Weber Appoints Dr. Abby K. Wood to FPPC
Abby Woods, of USC Gould School of Law and Bedrosian Center affiliate, received a new appointment to FPPC! Full article here
Citizens United turns 10 today. Here’s what we learned about dark money.
The Washington Post featured an op-ed by Abby Wood of the USC Gould School on what’s changed in campaign finance in the 10 years since the Citizens United ruling.
PIPE* Research: Abby K. Wood, USC, Gould School of Law
Campaign Finance Transparency Affects Legislators’ Election Outcomes and Behavior Do audits by executive agencies impact the behavior of those audited? Does revealing negative information about legislators affect electoral results and behavior? Institutions that encourage transparency, such as campaign finance disclosure, influence mass and elite behavior. We theorize that greater transparency Read more…
‘Dark money’ groups pour tens of millions of dollars into N.J. elections. Lawmakers want to know their donors.
The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Abby K. Wood of the USC Gould School about the use of dark money in political advertising. “When these groups run negative political advertising, viewers have no idea who is behind the message, said Abby K. Wood, a professor of law, political science, and public policy at the University of Read more…
Bipartisan politics takes center stage
Two former Congressmen discussed opportunities for bipartisan leadership and how to build political consensus. By: Yuming Fang Originally posted at USC Annenberg Media, October 22 at 5:12 PM Two men who are supposed to be on opposite sides of the political fence brought a message of unity to the USC campus Read more…
Town Hall with David Jolly (R-FL) & Patrick Murphy (D-FL)
Why Gridlock Rules Washington and How We Can Solve This Crisis A bipartisan lecture with former Congressmen David Jolly (R-FL) and Patrick Murphy (D-FL) moderated by Abby Wood, USC Gould School of Law. Hyper-partisan politics. Entrenched gridlock in Washington. Can Americans find common ground on the most pressing issues we Read more…
Democrats focusing on small donations as campaign tactic
Newsdayquoted Abby Woodof the USC Gould School on PAC money recipients. Abby Wood, an assistant professor of law, political science and public policy at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, said the reality is that “PAC money is an incumbent game,” noting the top 50 PAC money Read more…
Sen. John McCain fought to clean up money in politics. Are we better off today?
PolitiFactquoted Abby Woodof the USC Gould School on campaign finance reform. In the post-Watergate 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case Buckley vs. Valeo, the court ruled that expenditures are First Amendment-protected political “speech,” and contributions are First Amendment-protected political “association,” said Abby Wood, an associate professor of law, political science and public Read more…
Dem leader says no to double-doubles: the implications of In-N-Out’s political contributions
KPCC-FMquoted Abby Woodof the USC Gould School on the implications of In-N-Out’s political contributions. In California, it is much harder to do a so-called “dark money” expenditure than that on federal level and it is because of the new law. Full tape & article here
Facebook takes thrashing on Wall Street after experts question its ad review tactics
Salonquoted Abby Woodof the USC Gould School about Facebook’s proposal to police bad faith content with machines is likely problematic. But does it make sense to rely on more machines to police a problem caused by machines in the first place? Abby Wood, Associate Professor of Law, Political Science, and Read more…
The Politics of #HimToo
In an op-ed posted in The New York Times by a contributing writer, Abby K. Wood, USC Gould School, was quoted on the standard of acceptable behavior established by the Democratic Party. I’m struck by where the Democrats drew this line. Suppose they had drawn it somewhere between the allegations against Rep. John Conyers Read more…
When fake news is funny (or “funny”), is it harder to get people to stop sharing it?
Nieman Lab quoted Abby Wood of the USC Gould School on how current political advertising laws could be applied to reduce the negative impacts of fake news. A case for the U.S. government to regulate fake news. “Fake news is native advertising, or ‘disinformation advertising.’ Despite strong First Amendment protection of political speech, government Read more…
Drudge, Facebook, NYT readers could face libel suits for sharing ‘fake news’ under Dem plan
Fox News (in a Washington Examiner story) highlighted a paper by Abby K. Wood of the USC Gould School and colleagues proposing government regulation of “fake news” on the internet. Wood and colleagues argue that sharing an item that has been flagged as “untrue” may make an individual liable under libel laws. Read Fox News Read more…
Open up the black box of political advertising
The San Francisco Chronicle published an op-ed by Abby Wood of the USC Gould School and colleagues about the lack of regulation on political advertising that can be micro-targeted by Facebook and other platforms. During the 2016 presidential race, Trump’s campaign targeted likely Clinton supporters through Facebook with finely honed “dark posts” — visible to Read more…
PEPL at the intersections of politics, economics and the law
by Janna Rezaee This past June, I co-organized the Political Economy and Public Law (PEPL) conference here at USC with my colleague, Abby Wood. The goal of this small conference is to strengthen the connections between legal scholars and social scientists doing work at the intersection of politics, economics, and Read more…
Transparency and the Federal Election Commission
byAbby Wood and Christian Grose Bedrosian Faculty Research Award: Government Transparency Laws: Why Do Some Legislators Over Comply?, Awarded January 2015 __________________________ Transparency and the Federal Election Commission: A Boon for Citizens, Candidates, and Democracy? Overview Does transparency enhance the ability for voters to evaluate candidates for office, and reward those Read more…
Transparency and the Federal Election Commission
Does transparency enhance the ability for voters to evaluate candidates for office, and reward those candidates who are transparent and honest? Did the random audit policy formerly used by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) have positive benefits for both citizens and candidates? We theorize that increased transparency creates a stronger democratic process by providing more information to voters about candidates.
Faculty Awards Announced
by Justine Dodgen 2014-2015 Faculty Research Awards Announced The Bedrosian Center is pleased to announce the research projects that have been selected for Faculty Research Awards for the 2014-2015 academic year. Pam McCann, Assistant Professor at Price, received an award for a research project to develop a political bargaining theory that Read more…