OnPolitics: Sen. Ted Cruz brings campaign finance challenge to SCOTUS

Amy Nakamura and Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY
·4 min read

Happy Tuesday, OnPolitics Readers!

Good news! Some Americans have been able to order free coronavirus tests on the new federal government website a day early.

While COVIDTests.gov was expected to start accepting orders on Wednesday, an "Order free at-home tests" button was added Tuesday, which brings users to special.usps.com/testkits to order four at-home free tests.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday the site is in its beta phase to allow troubleshooting.

“We can’t guarantee there won’t be a bug or two,” Psaki said, “but the best tech teams across the administration and the Postal Service are working hard to make this a success.”

It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

SCOTUS to hear challenge from Sen. Ted Cruz on campaign finance

A day before Sen. Ted Cruz's successful reelection in 2018, the Texas Republican loaned his own campaign $260,000. When the deadline came to repay the money, his campaign didn't fully reimburse him so Cruz could challenge a law that has bitterly divided Republicans and Democrats over how candidates fund their campaigns.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in that challenge Wednesday.

On the surface, Cruz is asking the high court to strike down an obscure provision of law that dictates what happens when candidates loan money to their own campaigns. Simmering below that is a bigger fight over what the Biden administration views as an anti-corruption effort and what critics see as a perk for incumbents.

What is the case about? At issue are federal requirements governing how campaigns repay loans from a candidate in excess of $250,000. Any amount over that threshold has to be repaid within 20 days after the election or it converts to a donation, meaning the candidate can't recover it. A campaign is prohibited from repaying any amount above $250,000 from post-election contributions. If campaigns can't repay that money with contributions made before the election, the candidate has to take the loss.

The idea behind the prohibition is simple: Without it, contributions to a successful candidate's campaign would essentially wind up directly in the politician's pocket, since the money would be used by the campaign to pay back the candidate. That, supporters of the law say, increases the risk of corruption.

Real quick: stories you'll want to read

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Sexual assault laws in 27 states treat victims differently based on sobriety

A USA TODAY investigation found 27 states have laws that distinguish between sexual assault victims who drank or took drugs and those who were forced to do so. A majority of states allow for a felony rape conviction only if a victim became incapacitated against his or her will.

That distinction could determine whether charges are even filed, according to an USA TODAY analysis.

The difference can have a profound impact on college students, who are more likely to be victims of sexual violence. Such laws face criticism for promoting victim blaming.

Michal Buchhandler-Raphael, a professor at Widener University Commonwealth law school, told USA TODAY most states prohibit sexual relations with someone who is mentally incapacitated – which may include being intoxicated – but they don't treat victims equally.

“In most jurisdictions, the laws do distinguish still … between voluntarily intoxicated and involuntary intoxicated victims," he told USA TODAY.

Some states have worked to change the disparity. North Carolina was successful. In New York, the effort has stalled. Minnesota is one such state in which rulings depend on the definition of mental incapacitation.

"The law in Minnesota is not worse than the law in other states. It’s not that only Minnesota has this problem. It’s many, many other states,” Buchhandler-Raphael said.

Looking for more to read? Did you know an asteroid bigger than any building on the planet will pass by Earth Tuesday? — Amy and Chelsey

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz brings campaign finance challenge to Supreme Court

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