Unfair Advantage: The Abuse of State Resources in Elections Equally as important is examining the law for exemptions to imposed restrictions for particular groups. These undue advantages can include exceptions for certain, specific groups – such as military personnel – or allowances for certain political activities, such as making monetary contributions. Cases in which the ruling party exerts control over the civil service create opportunities for abuse: observers during Nigeria’s 2015 general elections noted the misuse of both federal and state resources in violation of the party Code of Conduct, including the redirection of civil service salaries to election campaign activities.54 Similarly, the continued employment of public employees in Bolivia allegedly depended on the reduction of their paychecks of anywhere from 5-50 percent in order to fund the 2009 election campaign of the President and Vice President.55 The law may also address permitted types of political participation for government employees, such as voting in elections, attending partisan and non-partisan political meetings, or signing petitions. The law should not seek, however, to entirely prohibit all activities relating to political participation of these individuals – in order to avoid undermining fundamental freedoms to vote and participate in public life, as, enshrined in international law56 – that do not involve the use of administrative resources. In the U.S., several forms of legislation, agency rules, ethics manuals, and codes of conduct address the various contributions of government employees to electoral campaigns. The Hatch Act57 is the principal federal civil statute regulating campaign contributions of federal executive branch personnel, employees of the District of Columbia, and certain state personnel.58 Additionally, there are several criminal federal statutes regulating state personnel political activities, the majority of which apply to more than just federal executive employees.59 Moreover, Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the principal set of rules and regulations issued by federal agencies regarding administrative personnel.60 Although not regulated by the civil provisions of the Hatch Act, Members and employees of Congress are regulated by their respective ethics manuals,61 which address political conduct.62 Similarly, all federal judges and magistrates are regulated by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which is complemented by the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees, as well as the Regulation on Gifts EU EOM, Final Report: Federal Republic of Nigeria 20-21 (2015) [hereinafter EU EOM Nigeria Final Report]. A bonus was later given to public employees as “compensation.” See TIDE, supra note 4, at 162. 56 For example, Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. See International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights art. 25, Dec. 16, 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171 [hereinafter ICCPR]. 57 5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-7326 (2012). 58 See Shannon Azzaro, Hatch Act Modernization Act: Putting the Government Back in Politics, 42 Fordham Urb. L.J. 781, 782 (2015). 59 See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. A. §§ 602, 603, 606, 610. Note that §610 only applies to federal executive branch employees, and certain DC and state and local officials. See Craig C. Donsanto et al., Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses, 109-15 (7th ed., 2007). 60 See, e.g., 5 C.F.R. §§ 734.101, 734.104, 734.201, 734.203(a), 734.204(b)-(f), 734.206(a)-(d), 734.208(a), 734.302(a), 734.303, 734.305(a)-(b), 734.401(b), 724.407, 724.409(a)-(d), 724.410, 724.411(a), 724.411(e), 724.412(b), 734.501, 734.502, 734.503. 61 See United States of America, Money Politics & Transparency, https://data.moneypoliticstransparency.org/ countries/US/ (last visited June 14, 2016). Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have their own ethics manuals. 62 See H.R. Rep. Comm. On Standards of Official Conduct, 110th Cong., House Ethics Manual 123-24, 135-38, 15051 (2008) [hereinafter House Ethics Manual]; see also S. Select Comm. On Ethics, Senate Ethics Manual, S. Pub. 108-1, at 139-41, 147-48 (1st Sess., 2003) [hereinafter Senate Ethics Manual]. 54 55 9