OHIO: Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 318 into law the evening of Friday, October 21, 2011. House Bill 318 creates two separate primary elections in the state during 2012. The first primary election, for county partisan offices, the state legislature, and the available U.S. Senate seat, will be held on March 6, 2012, while the second primary date, for the President and U.S. House of Representatives, will be June 12, 2012. The bill is intended to give state lawmakers more time to settle differences concerning Ohio's recently passed map for legislative redistricting, as a Democrat-backed coalition seeks to place the redistricting measure before Ohio's voters for a possible repeal in 2012 if a compromise cannot be reached.

BRITISH COLUMBIA: A court has ruled the province cannot restrict election spending in the 60 days leading up to an official election call. In British Columbia Teachers' Federation v. British Columbia (Attorney General), the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling finding portions of Election Act sections 235.1 and 228 are unconstitutional and are of no force and effect insofar as they relate to the pre-campaign period as defined in the act. Therefore, the court affirmed the British Columbia Attorney General cannot restrict election spending in the pre-campaign period 60 days before the election period begins. Election advertising preceding a 28-day campaign period is considered a "pre-campaign" period.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: The San Jose City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, October 18 to change the city’s campaign finance laws. Changes approved include the elimination of the city’s blackout periods which prohibit campaign contributions within 17 days of a regular election and within seven days of a special election. Per the new law, the voluntary candidate campaign expenditure limits will increase from $1.00 per resident per election to $1.25. The rate for mayoral elections will remain the same at $0.75 per resident per election. Further changes implemented by the new law eliminate an increase in the voluntary expenditure cap triggered by the fundraising efforts of other candidates and independent committees, who do not choose to accept the limit.

CALIFORNIA: At its October 13, 2011 hearing, the Fair Political Practices Commission voted 3-0 to adopt Regulation 18421.31 regarding text message contributions. Per the new regulation candidates and committees are permitted to raise funds through low-dollar text message contributions. For the purposes of the regulation, contributions are deemed to be received on the date a mobile fundraising vendor, acting as an agent of the candidate or committee, obtains possession and control of the funds. Once received by the mobile fundraising vendor, contributions must be promptly reported to the candidate or committee’s treasurer or a designated agent thereof no later than the closing date of any campaign statement the candidate or committee is required to file. For text message contributions of less than $25, candidates and committees will be required to maintain the dates and daily totals of contributions. For contributions exceeding $25 but less than $100, the regulation requires that candidates and committees record the full name and street address of the contributor, the cumulative amount received from each contribution, and any information regarding an intermediary where applicable. When a contribution exceeding $100 is received, the regulation requires that the candidate or committee maintain a record of the contributor’s name and address, occupation, employer, the cumulative amount received from the contributor, and any information regarding an intermediary where applicable. Under the proposed regulation, a contribution made by text message will be attributed to the person who is subscribed to the cell phone number from which the contribution is received.

FEDERAL: The Federal Election Commission will no longer prohibit non-connected political committees from accepting corporate and labor organization contributions, provided the political committee maintains and deposits those contributions into separate bank accounts. The commission will also not limit the amounts permissible sources can contribute to such accounts. In an statement released by the commission, it stated, consistent with its agreement to a stipulated order and consent judgment in Carey v. FEC, it would no longer enforce 2 U.S.C. §441a(a)(1)(C) and (a)(3), as well as any implementing regulations, against any non-connected political committee with regard to contributions from individuals, political committees, corporations, and labor organizations under certain conditions. A single committee may now contribute directly to candidates and political committees, and make independent expenditures, separating the funds only by using two separate bank accounts. The committee must maintain the statutory limits on the solicitation of funds used for direct contributions while it may simultaneously seek unlimited funds for use in their independent expenditures. The commission intends to develop new regulations and amend its reporting forms. Until that time, the commission says committees should follow the procedures outlined in its current statement.