Hey look! It's a state making it EASIER to vote! ThinkProgress: "Election Day Registration (EDR), which allows citizens to register up to and on Election Day, passed the California State Senate today by a party-line vote of 23-13. AB 1436 had passed the State Assembly in May 47-26."

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Newsday: Taking a fresh look at campaign finance
A look at the event the other day with CAPAF, Third Way, and Cuomo on campaign finance.

WaPo: Florida election laws threaten the vote in a key swing state
"Florida’s promise to ban non-citizens from voting sounds benign, but the method behind its purges causes serious concern."

Congress/2012
Sunlight Foundation: Headlining the RNC convention: fundraisers, lobbyists, and shadowy nonprofits
"Next week's Republican gathering in Tampa features more than 150 events of various kinds – policy talks to late night bashes to campaign fundraisers -- according to event schedules and other invitations we have compiled on the Sunlight Foundation’s just-redesigned Party Time." And, which lobbyist has rented out a restaurant for the week in Tampa? Nobody knows.

Fox: Obama, Romney to begin accepting donations via text
More on yesterday's news on text donations. And here's a statement from us.

WaPo: Obama campaign is depending on a strong ground game against Romney
Presidential spending is coming down to ground game vs ad war. "Obama is spending earlier and investing more in his state campaign infrastructure, putting a bigger emphasis on person-to-person contact with potential voters. Romney and Republicans are focusing more on advertising and stockpiling funds, anticipating a significant and growing money advantage in the fall."

Politico: For GOP mega-donors, a convention of their own
In Tampa, "The real action will be with the Republican mega-donors gathered in arena skyboxes, closed-door hotel ballrooms and pricey restaurants around town." Miriam Adelson is getting a pavilion named after her.

USA Today: Who are the Kochs and how far does their influence reach?
"In Washington, however, the brothers are best known for their growing influence in politics as they inject millions into an array of conservative groups, including Americans for Prosperity."

IndyStar: First Lady Michelle Obama speaks at fundraiser at Lucas Oil stadium
"First Lady Michelle Obama told a robust crowd at a fundraiser Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium their help was crucial because the election could come down to a few thousand votes."

NYT: Ties to Obama aided in access for big utility
"With energy an increasingly pivotal issue for the Obama White House, a review of Exelon’s relationship with the administration shows how familiarity has helped foster access at the upper reaches of government and how, in some cases, the outcome has been favorable for Exelon."

Miami Herald: Facing FBI scrutiny former Democratic candidate files amended campaign finance report
"A failed Democratic congressional candidate whose campaign is under federal grand jury investigation abruptly amended his financial disclosures to show he loaned himself nearly $53,000 more than he originally reported." The guy is a hotel employee and now says he has loaned his campaign $64,000. Ok.

AP: Mitt Romney raises $2 million at Little Rock fundraiser
"Romney spoke at a 250-person fundraiser with tickets ranging from $2,500 to $50,000. The presumptive GOP nominee is making a fundraising push in Republican-leaning states ahead of next week's GOP convention." And Paul Ryan raised money in Springfield, MO yesterday (it's unclear if Todd Akin came up).

ProPublica: Flood of secret campaign cash: It's not all Citizens United
"But a closer look shows that there are several reasons that tens of millions of dollars of secret money are flooding this year's campaign. Actions — and inaction — by both the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service have contributed just as much to the flood of tens of millions of dollars of secret money into the 2012 campaign."

Politico: TV stations love super PACs
"So that means President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney can stretch their dollar more than Karl Rove or Bill Burton. And the influx of political ad spending from super PACs and outside groups is serving as a boon to broadcasters and their corporate owners."

USA Today: Donors would benefit from Romney energy plan
"Mitt Romney's campaign and a super PAC backing him have received more than $15 million from oil, coal and other energy interests, many of which would benefit from the energy plan Romney unveiled Thursday."

Roll Call: Conventions 2012 firm nears crunch time
A look at Conventions 2012, "a consulting firm that helps companies and trade associations navigate the political confabs."

CRP: Liberal group with ties to unions ends donor disclosure
On Patriot Majority, the group running anti-Koch ads: "But in a striking example of how the most ambitious actors in the realm of political funding have begun taking advantage of a shift in the legal landscape since 2010, the trail connecting Patriot Majority to its well-known progressive funders has all but melted away. "

AP: Romney uses secretive data-mining
"Mitt Romney's success in raising hundreds of millions of dollars in the costliest presidential race ever can be traced in part to a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans' personal information - including their purchasing history and church attendance - to identify new and likely, wealthy donors, The Associated Press has learned."

Salon: Romney fund bankrolled Adelson
"A fund partially owned by Mitt Romney lent GOP mega donor Sheldon Adelson’s company $3 million, according to hundreds of pages of previously confidential documents obtained by Gawker and published today."

OpenSecrets: Presidential candidates pick up $1.1 million from overseas
"According to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, based on the latest Federal Election Commission filings, Obama has raised at least $779,000 from donors outside of the United States, while Romney has picked up $383,368."

AL-Monitor: Eric Cantor tied to rabbi whose aide is at center of probe
Interesting read on Michael Grimm's former fundraiser: "An influential rabbi whose former aide is embroiled in a campaign finance investigation has ties to one of the most powerful members of Congress, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor."