Nov. 1-7, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris looks at a monitor of the event from backstage, before taking the stage for her final campaign rally in Philadelphia. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, joined by former first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron Trump, arrives to speak at an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida. Harris lost the 2024 United States presidential election to Donald Trump, conceding to the Republican president-elect after a hard-fought campaign.
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A child reaches out to touch a sculpture at a cafe with a bath house theme along the popular Wangfujing shopping street in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A photographer lies on the ground to take a picture of Britain's Prince William greeting pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)
People drive along a road littered with fallen power lines after the passing of Hurricane Rafael in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People stand in the early morning smog next to a bridge over Yamuna river covered in pollutants, the day after the Hindu festival Diwali, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, astronaut Ye Guangfu waves near the re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou-18 manned space mission after it landed successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the early Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Li Xin/Xinhua via AP)
A Nepalese woman offers prayers to the setting sun on the bank of Bagmati River during the Chhath Puja festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A view of The Rink at Rockefeller Center, as seen from several stories up inside Rockefeller Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in New York, as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris made an unannounced trip there to appear on an episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A rainbow stretches across the sky as a woman walks along the shore after swimming at the Mediterranean sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Workers position floating booms while wet harvesting cranberries at Rocky Meadow Bog, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Middleborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
West Indies' Matthew Forde celebrates taking the wicket of England's Will Jacks during the third ODI cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Bolivia's former President Evo Morales chews coca in Lauca N, Chapare region, Bolivia, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, amid an ongoing political conflict with the government of President Luis Arce. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
People at a bus stop shield themselves with cardboard amid wind and rain during the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Jackson Vargas, who left Venezuela after the country's disputed election, holds his daughter along the shore in Necocli, Colombia, as they save money ahead of traversing the Darien Gap, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A protester holds an Israeli flag as Israelis light a bonfire during a protest after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his defense minister Yoav Gallant in a surprise announcement in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Firefighters and sheriff's deputies push a vintage car away from a burning home as the Mountain Fire burns in Camarillo, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Civil Guards check cars for bodies in an indoor car park after floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Dolores Merchan, 67, reacts in tears as she is assisted by volunteers clearing mud from her home, where she has lived all her life with her husband and three children, and which has been severely affected by the floods in Masanasa, Valencia, Spain, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Vehicles pile up in the streets after flooding caused by late Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Alfafar, Valencia region, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Angel Garcia)
Shamans perform a good luck ritual holding posters of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, at the beach in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
With tears streaming down her face, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris applauds as Harris delivers a concession speech after the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Supporters cheer at an election night watch party for Republican Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont. (AP Photo/Tommy Martino)
A voter works on her ballot at a polling place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Voters stand in line outside a polling place at Madison Church, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, joined by Melania Trump, left, and Barron Trump, arrives to speak at an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A young girl holds a "Black Voters for Harris-Walz" sign outside of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris' election night watch party at Howard University, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump watches a video screen at a campaign rally at the Salem Civic Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Salem, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris looks at a monitor of the event from backstage, just before taking the stage for her final campaign rally, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain, mostly located in the southern outskirts of the city of Valencia, swept away almost everything in their path. With no time to react, people were trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses. Many died and thousands of livelihoods were shattered.
Protesters lit bonfires and held Israeli flags after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a surprise announcement in Tel Aviv, Israel.
This photo gallery, curated by AP photo editors, highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by The Associated Press in the past week.
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A child reaches out to touch a sculpture at a cafe with a bath house theme along the popular Wangfujing shopping street in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A photographer lies on the ground to take a picture of Britain's Prince William greeting pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)
People drive along a road littered with fallen power lines after the passing of Hurricane Rafael in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People stand in the early morning smog next to a bridge over Yamuna river covered in pollutants, the day after the Hindu festival Diwali, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, astronaut Ye Guangfu waves near the re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou-18 manned space mission after it landed successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the early Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Li Xin/Xinhua via AP)
A Nepalese woman offers prayers to the setting sun on the bank of Bagmati River during the Chhath Puja festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A view of The Rink at Rockefeller Center, as seen from several stories up inside Rockefeller Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in New York, as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris made an unannounced trip there to appear on an episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A rainbow stretches across the sky as a woman walks along the shore after swimming at the Mediterranean sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Workers position floating booms while wet harvesting cranberries at Rocky Meadow Bog, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Middleborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
West Indies' Matthew Forde celebrates taking the wicket of England's Will Jacks during the third ODI cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Bolivia's former President Evo Morales chews coca in Lauca N, Chapare region, Bolivia, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, amid an ongoing political conflict with the government of President Luis Arce. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
People at a bus stop shield themselves with cardboard amid wind and rain during the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Jackson Vargas, who left Venezuela after the country's disputed election, holds his daughter along the shore in Necocli, Colombia, as they save money ahead of traversing the Darien Gap, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A protester holds an Israeli flag as Israelis light a bonfire during a protest after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his defense minister Yoav Gallant in a surprise announcement in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Firefighters and sheriff's deputies push a vintage car away from a burning home as the Mountain Fire burns in Camarillo, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Civil Guards check cars for bodies in an indoor car park after floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Dolores Merchan, 67, reacts in tears as she is assisted by volunteers clearing mud from her home, where she has lived all her life with her husband and three children, and which has been severely affected by the floods in Masanasa, Valencia, Spain, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Vehicles pile up in the streets after flooding caused by late Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Alfafar, Valencia region, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Angel Garcia)
Shamans perform a good luck ritual holding posters of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, at the beach in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
With tears streaming down her face, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris applauds as Harris delivers a concession speech after the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Supporters cheer at an election night watch party for Republican Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont. (AP Photo/Tommy Martino)
A voter works on her ballot at a polling place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Voters stand in line outside a polling place at Madison Church, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, joined by Melania Trump, left, and Barron Trump, arrives to speak at an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A young girl holds a "Black Voters for Harris-Walz" sign outside of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris' election night watch party at Howard University, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump watches a video screen at a campaign rally at the Salem Civic Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Salem, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris looks at a monitor of the event from backstage, just before taking the stage for her final campaign rally, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine residents this week overwhelmingly approved a referendum to limit donations to political action committees that spend independently in candidate elections, setting the stage for a legal showdown over caps on individual contributions to so-called super PACs that spend freely in elections.
In the nation's only campaign finance reform initiative on the ballot on Election Day, residents voted to cap individual donations to super PACs at $5,000. Supporters fully expect a lawsuit that they hope will bring clarity to PAC donations after the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to unlimited spending by super PACs.
The measure was carefully crafted to survive legal challenges as states try to find a way to regulate campaign spending after the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, said state Sen. Rick Bennett, a supporter of the proposal.
"We’ve become a place where our democracy is being bought and sold by the richest people in our country," said Bennett, a Republican from Oxford. “People of all political stripes support this measure. The only people who really oppose this are the monied interests who abuse the system.”
The Supreme Court opened the floodgates for big business and labor unions to spend freely on elections in the Citizens United decision, and a Court of Appeals decision three months later lifted limits on individual spending.
The Maine initiative doesn't attempt to limit independent spending on behalf of candidates. It focuses instead on limits on individual donations to super PACS, an area the Supreme Court has not ruled on, observers say.
Cara McCormick, leader of Citizens to End Super PACs in Maine, said the goal is to reduce the outsized influence that super PACs currently enjoy through so-called “dark money” spending.
Political nonprofit groups are not required to disclose their donors and do not have to reveal much about how they spend the donations they receive. A super PAC may raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to campaign independently for candidates for federal office. Its activities must be reported to the Federal Elections Commission but is not otherwise regulated if not coordinated with the candidate or campaign.
“We have the right to stand up to the big money in politics in Maine. We’re asserting our right to limit the amount of money that someone can give to a super PAC to eliminate not only corruption in our politics but the appearance of corruption in our politics. We think that’s something worth fighting for,” McCormick said.
In Maine, the limit would only apply to PACs spending money on behalf of candidates, not ballot committees involved in referendums. Maine law currently limits contributions to candidates, not PACs. For general elections, individuals can contribute a maximum of $1,950 to a gubernatorial candidate and $475 to a legislative candidate.
Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig, a longtime advocate for campaign finance reform, and his Equal Citizens nonprofit backed the Maine referendum. A similar citizen initiative effort in Massachusetts was blocked by the attorney general on constitutional concerns.
The U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue of individual contributions to PACs, and long-established case law supports the notion that states can limit individual contributions to PACs despite a decision to the contrary by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Lessig said.
The concern with unlimited individual contributions is the risk of a quid pro quo even when super PACs are spending independently and not coordinating directly with a candidate, Lessig said.
The matter will ultimately have to be decided by the Supreme Court.
“I’m very optimistic that the U.S. Supreme Court will apply existing jurisprudence that states are free to limit contributions,” he said. “The issue that this case would raise is not asking the Supreme Court to change its jurisprudence, not asking them to overturn Citizens United.”
The Maine law goes into effect this winter, if there is no legal challenge, after an emphatic vote. Nearly 75% of voters supported the citizen initiative.
A voter-approved Maine limit on PAC contributions sets the stage for a legal challenge
Voters fill out their ballots on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. (AP Photo/Joel Page)
A voter-approved Maine limit on PAC contributions sets the stage for a legal challenge