Campaign finance in the United States

"Soft money" redirects here. Soft money may also refer to soft currency or fiat money. For the 1919 Harold Lloyd comedy film, see Soft Money (film). For the album by hip hop artist Jel, see Soft Money (album).

Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, campaign finance law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency. Although most campaign spending is privately financed, public financing is available for qualifying candidates for President of the United States during both the primaries and the general election. Eligibility requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for a government subsidy, and those that do accept government funding are usually subject to spending limits on money.

Races for non-federal offices are governed by state and local law. Over half the states allow some level of corporate and union contributions. Some states have limits on contributions from individuals that are lower than the national limits, while four states (Missouri, Oregon, Utah and Virginia) have no limits at all.[1] This article deals primarily with campaigns for federal office.

Campaign finance numbers

In 2008, candidates for office, political parties, and independent groups spent a total of $5.3 billion on federal elections.[2] The amount spent on the presidential race alone was $2.4 billion,[3] and over $1 billion of that was spent by the campaigns of the two major candidates: Barack Obama spent $730 million in his election campaign, and John McCain spent $333 million.[4] The total amount spent by Obama and McCain was a record at the time.[5]

In the 2010 midterm election cycle, candidates for office, political parties, and independent groups spent a total of $3.6 billion on federal elections. The average winner of a seat in the House of Representatives spent $1.4 million on his or her campaign. The average winner of a Senate seat spent $9.8 million.[6]

The money for campaigns for federal office comes from four broad categories of sources: (1) small individual contributors (individuals who contribute $200 or less), (2) large individual contributors (individuals who contribute more than $200), (3) political action committees, and (4) self-financing (the candidate's own money). In the 2010 Congressional races, the sources of campaign contributions broke down as follows:[7]

Small Individual Contributors Large Individual Contributors Political Action Committees Self-Financing Other
House Democrats 9% 47% 38% 3% 3%
House Republicans 14% 48% 24% 12% 3%
Senate Democrats 12% 53% 15% 12% 8%
Senate Republicans 18% 42% 12% 20% 8%

Sources of campaign funding

Federal contribution limits

Federal law restricts how much individuals and organizations may contribute to political campaigns, political parties, and other FEC-regulated organizations. Corporations and unions are barred from donating money directly to candidates or national party committees.[8]

DONORS RECIPIENTS
Candidate Committee PAC[Note 1]
(SSF and Nonconnected) 		State/District/Local Party Committee National Party Committee Additional National Party Committee Accounts[Note 2]
Individual $2,700[Note 3]
per election 		$5,000
per year 		$10,000
per year
(combined) 		$33,400[Note 3]
per year 		$100,200[Note 3]
per account, per year
Candidate Committee $2,000
per election 		$5,000
per year 		Unlimited Transfers
PAC - Multicandidate $5,000
per election 		$5,000
per year 		$5,000
per year (combined) 		$15,000
per year 		$45,000
per account, per year
PAC - Nonmulticandidate $2,700[Note 3]
per election 		$5,000
per year 		$10,000
per year
(combined) 		$33,400[Note 3]
per year 		$100,200[Note 3]
per account, per year
State, District & Local Party Committee $5,000
per election 		$5,000
per year 		Unlimited Transfers
National Party Committee $5,000
per election[Note 4] 		$5,000
per year

Table footnotes

  1. ↑ “PAC” here refers to a committee that makes contributions to other federal political committees. Independent-expenditure-only political committees (sometimes called “Super PACs”) may accept unlimited contributions, including from corporations and labor organizations.
  2. ↑ The limits in this column apply to a national party committee’s accounts for: (i) the presidential nominating convention; (ii) election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings; and (iii) national party headquarters buildings. A party’s national committee, Senate campaign committee and House campaign committee are each considered separate national party committees with separate limits. Only a national party committee, not the parties’ national congressional campaign committees, may have an account for the presidential nominating convention.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Indexed for inflation in odd-numbered years.
  4. ↑ Additionally, a national party committee and its Senatorial campaign committee may contribute up to $46,800 combined per campaign to each Senate candidate.

[9]

Bundling

One consequence of the limitation upon personal contributions from any one individual is that campaigns seek out "bundlers"—people who can gather contributions from many individuals in an organization or community and present the sum to the campaign. Campaigns often recognize these bundlers with honorary titles and, in some cases, exclusive events featuring the candidate.

Although bundling existed in various forms since the enactment of the FECA, bundling became organized in a more structured way in the 2000s, spearheaded by the "Bush Pioneers" for George W. Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. During the 2008 campaign the six leading primary candidates (three Democratic, three Republican) had listed a total of nearly two thousand bundlers.[10]

Lobbying

Lobbyists often assist congresspersons with campaign finance by arranging fundraisers, assembling PACs, and seeking donations from other clients. Many lobbyists become campaign treasurers and fundraisers for congresspersons.[11][12][13]

Spending by outside organizations

Organizations other than individual campaigns also contribute to election spending. In addition to donating money to political campaigns (according to the limits described above), these organizations can spend money directly to influence elections.

Political action committees

Federal law allows for multiple types of political action committees (PACs).

501(c)(4) organizations

501(c)(4) organizations are defined by the IRS as "social welfare" organizations. Unlike 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, they may also participate in political campaigns and elections, as long as the organization's "primary purpose" is the promotion of social welfare and not political advocacy.[25] 501(c)(4) organizations are not required to disclose their donors publicly.[26] This aspect of the law has led to extensive use of 501(c)(4) organizations in raising and donating money for political activity.[27] The NAACP, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, and National Rifle Association are well known examples of organizations that operate 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations that engage in political advocacy.

PACs and Super PACs are required by law to disclose all of their donors of over $200. However, 501(c)(4) organizations are only required to disclose their spending on political activity, and not information on their donors unless those donors give for the express purpose of political advocacy. The use of 501(c)(4) organizations for political advocacy has contributed to the sharp rise in outside spending that occurs without disclosure of donors. In 2006 just a bit more than 1% of political spending other than that done by political parties and campaign committees did not disclose donors, but by 2010 it had risen to 44%.[28] And as of August 2012, two of the biggest 501(c)(4) groups (Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity) had put more money into the presidential campaign than all the super PACs combined, according to ProPublica.[29]

Traditionally 501(c)(4) organizations have been civic leagues and other corporations operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, or local associations of employees with membership limited to a designated company or people in a particular municipality or neighborhood, and with net earnings devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes.[30]

527 organizations

Main article: 527 organization

A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after "Section 527" of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Technically, almost all political committees, including state, local, and federal candidate committees, traditional political action committees, "Super PACs", and political parties are "527s." However, in common practice the term is usually applied only to such organizations that are not regulated under state or federal campaign finance laws because they do not "expressly advocate" for the election or defeat of a candidate or party. When operated within the law, there are no upper limits on contributions to 527s and no restrictions on who may contribute. There are no spending limits imposed on these organizations. However, they must register with the IRS, publicly disclose their donors and file periodic reports of contributions and expenditures.[31]

Political parties

Political party committees may contribute funds directly to candidates, subject to the contribution limits listed above. National and state party committees may make additional "coordinated expenditures," subject to limits, to help their nominees in general elections. National party committees may also make unlimited "independent expenditures" to support or oppose federal candidates. However, since 2002, national parties have been prohibited from accepting any funds outside the limits established for elections in the FECA.

Disclosure rules

Current campaign finance law at the federal level requires candidate committees, party committees, and PACs to file periodic reports disclosing the money they raise and spend. Federal candidate committees must identify, for example, all PACs and party committees that give them contributions, and they must provide the names, occupations, employers and addresses of all individuals who give them more than $200 in an election cycle. Additionally, they must disclose expenditures to any individual or vendor.[32] The Federal Election Commission maintains this database and publishes the information about campaigns and donors on its web site. (Similar reporting requirements exist in many states for state and local candidates and for PACs and party committees.)

Various organizations, including the Center for Responsive Politics, aggregate data on political contributions to provide insight into the influence of various groups. In August 2014, a new smartphone app called "Buypartisan" was released to allow consumers to scan the barcodes of items in grocery stores and see where that corporation and its leaders directed their political contributions.[33]

History of federal campaign finance reform

Early history of campaign finance reform

Federal Election Campaign Act

In 1971, Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), instituting various campaign finance disclosure requirements for federal candidates (those running for the House, the Senate, the President and the Vice President), political parties, and political action committees. In 1974, Congress passed amendments to the FECA establishing a comprehensive system of regulation and enforcement, including public financing of presidential campaigns and the creation of a central enforcement agency, the Federal Election Commission. The new regulations included limits on campaign finance, including caps on (1) individual contributions to candidates, (2) contributions to candidates by “political committees” (commonly known as Political Action Committees, or PACs), (3) total campaign expenditures, and (4) independent expenditures by individuals and groups "relative to a clearly identified candidate."

The constitutionality of the FECA was challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo (1976). In Buckley, the Court upheld the Act's limits on individual contributions, as well as the disclosure and reporting provisions and the public financing scheme. The Court held that limitations on donations to candidates were constitutional because of the compelling state interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption. However, the Court also held that caps on the amount campaigns could spend and caps on independent expenditures were an unconstitutional abridgment of free speech under the First Amendment. In addition, Buckley also held that the disclosure and reporting requirements of FECA could only apply to expenditures authorized or requested by a candidate or expenditures for communications that “expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.”

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Under FECA, corporations, unions, and individuals could contribute unlimited "nonfederal money"—also known as "soft money"—to political parties for activities intended to influence state or local elections. In a series of advisory opinions between 1977 and 1995, the FEC ruled that political parties could fund "mixed-purpose" activities—including get-out-the-vote drives and generic party advertising—in part with soft money, and that parties could also use soft money to defray the costs of "legislative advocacy media advertisements," even if the ads mentioned the name of a federal candidate, so long as they did not expressly advocate the candidate's election or defeat.[34] Furthermore, in 1996, the Supreme Court decided Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC, in which the Court ruled that Congress could not restrict the total amount of "independent expenditures" made by a political party without coordination with a candidate, invalidating a FECA provision that restricted how much a political party could spend in connection with a particular candidate.[35] As a result of these rulings, soft money effectively enabled parties and candidates to circumvent FECA's limitations on federal election campaign contributions.[36]

Soft money raised between 1993–2002

Party1993–19941995–19961997–19981999–20002001–2002
Democratic Party45.6 million122.3 million92.8 million243 million199.6 million
Republican Party59.5 million141.2 million131.6 million244.4 million221.7 million
Total contributions105.1 million263.5 million224.4 million487.4 million421.3 million[37]

In 2002, Congress further attempted to reform federal campaign financing with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. The BCRA, sometimes called the "McCain-Feingold" Act, amended the FECA in several respects. First, it prohibited national political party committees from soliciting or spending any soft money and prohibited state and local party committees from using soft money for activities that affect federal elections. Second, it prohibited the use of corporate and union treasury funds to pay for "electioneering communications"—broadcast or cable advertisements clearly identifying a federal candidate—within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. The law also included a "stand by your ad" provision requiring candidates to appear in campaign advertisements and claim responsibility for the ad (most commonly with a phrase similar to "I'm John Smith and I approve this message.")

This law was also challenged in the Supreme Court, but its core provisions were upheld by the Supreme Court in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission. However, in McConnell, the Court also interpreted the “electioneering communications” provisions of BCRA to exempt “nonprofit corporations that [1] were formed for the sole purpose of promoting political ideas, [2] did not engage in business activities, and [3] did not accept contributions from for-profit corporations or labor unions.” Thus, non-business, non-profit political organizations could run electioneering advertisements provided that they did not accept corporate or union donations.

Furthermore, the BCRA did not regulate "527 organizations" (named for the section of the tax code under which they operate). These nonprofit organizations are not regulated by the FEC, provided that they do not coordinate with candidates or expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a specific candidate. After the passage of the BCRA, many of the soft money-funded activities previously undertaken by political parties were taken over by various 527 groups, which funded many issue ads in the 2004 presidential election. The heavy spending of key 527 groups to attack presidential candidates brought complaints to the Federal Elections Commission of illegal coordination between the groups and rival political campaigns. (In 2006 and 2007 the FEC fined a number of organizations, including MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, for violations arising from the 2004 campaign. The FEC's rationale was that these groups had specifically advocated the election or defeat of candidates, thus making them subject to federal regulation and its limits on contributions to the organizations.)[38]

The reach of the “electioneering communications” provisions of the BCRA was also limited in the 2007 Supreme Court ruling Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. In Wisconsin Right to Life, the Supreme Court stated that the restrictions on “electioneering communications” applied only to advertisements that “can only reasonably be viewed as advocating or opposing a candidate.” Thus, if there was any reasonable way to view an advertisement as an “issue ad,” it would be exempt from the BCRA’s restrictions.

Citizens United and SpeechNow

Campaign finance law in the United States changed drastically in the wake of two 2010 judicial opinions: the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in SpeechNow.org v. FEC.[39] According to a 2011 Congressional Research Service report, these two decisions constitute “the most fundamental changes to campaign finance law in decades.” [40]

Citizens United struck down, on free speech grounds, the limits on the ability of organizations that accepted corporate or union money from running electioneering communications. The Court reasoned that the restrictions permitted by Buckley were justified based on avoiding corruption or the appearance of corruption, and that this rationale did not apply to corporate donations to independent organizations. Citizens United overruled the 1990 case Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, in which the Supreme Court upheld the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, which prohibited corporations from using treasury money to support or oppose candidates in elections.

Two months later, a unanimous nine-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided SpeechNow, which relied on Citizens United to hold that Congress could not limit donations to organizations that only made independent expenditures, that is, expenditures that were “uncoordinated” with a candidate’s campaign. These decisions led to the rise of “independent-expenditure only” PACs, commonly known as “Super PACs.” Super PACs, under Citizens United and SpeechNow, can raise unlimited funds from individual and corporate donors and use those funds for electioneering advertisements, provided that the Super PAC does not coordinate with a candidate.

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission

On February 19, 2013, the Supreme Court announced it would hear McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, a case challenging the limit on how much individuals can donate directly to political parties and federal candidates.[41] On April 2, 2014, the Court ruled that aggregate limits on campaign contributions were unconstitutional under the First Amendment.[42]

Efforts to strengthen campaign finance laws

Developments after Buckley

In 1986, several bills were killed in the U.S. Senate by bipartisan maneuvering which did not allow the bills to come up for a vote. The bills would impose strict controls for campaign fund raising. Later in 1988, legislative and legal setbacks on proposals designed to limiting overall campaign spending by candidates were shelved after a Republican filibuster. In addition, a constitutional amendment to override ‘’Buckley’’ failed to get off the ground.

In 1994, Senate Democrats had more bills blocked by Republicans including a bill setting spending limits and authorizing partial public financing of congressional elections. In 1996, bipartisan legislation for voluntary spending limits which rewarded those who comply, and which banned soft money, was killed by a Republican filibuster.[43]

The Reform Party, founded by Ross Perot, made campaign finance reform a central issue in its platform, and when Perot ran for president in 1992 and 1996 he strongly argued for it. Oddly enough, most political scientists believe that campaign finance laws hindered Perot's efforts to establish the Reform Party on a permanent basis.

In 1997, the McCain-Feingold bipartisan bill sought to close soft money and TV advertising expenditures but the legislation was defeated by a Republican filibuster. Several different proposals were made in 1999 by both parties. The Campaign Integrity Act (H.R. 1867) proposed by Asa Hutchinson (R-Arkansas) put a ban on soft money and raised hard money limits. The Citizen Legislature & Political ACT (H.R. 1922) sponsored by Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) would repeal all federal freedom ACT election contribution limits and expedite and expand disclosure. H.R. 417 Campaign Reform Act Shays-Meehan Bill, sponsored by Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Martin Meehan (D-MA), banned soft money and limited types of campaign advertising.

Campaign finance again became a major issue in the 2000 presidential election, especially with candidates John McCain and Ralph Nader. Organizations in favor of campaign finance reform included many public interest groups, such as Common Cause, Democracy 21, the Campaign Legal Center, and Democracy Matters. Opposition came from a coalition of organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Competitive Politics (both of which argue that campaign finance reform would harm free speech) and the National Rifle Association, National Right to Life Committee, and other organizations.

Developments after Citizens United

The DISCLOSE Act (S. 3628) was proposed in July 2010. The bill would have amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit foreign influence in Federal elections, prohibit government contractors from making expenditures with respect to such elections, and establish additional disclosure requirements with respect to spending in such elections. The bill would also have imposed new donor and contribution disclosure requirements on nearly all organizations that air political ads independently of candidates or the political parties. The legislation would require the sponsor of the ad to appear in it. Because the law already prohibits foreign contributions (2 U.S.C. 441e) and contributions by federal contractors (2 U.S.C. 441c), and requires identifying information on all ads (2 U.S.C. 441d), Republicans were suspicious of the bill – particularly after the primary Senate sponsor, Senate Chuck Schumer (D. N.Y.) stated that the legislation was intended to have a "deterrence effect" on speech.[44] Democrats needed at least one Republican to support the measure in order to get the 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster, but were unsuccessful.[45][46]

In 2011, a political action committee called Wolf PAC was formed in response to the Citizens United decision.[47] Its goal is to pass an amendment to overturn the decision, along with substantially similar Supreme Court decisions such as Buckley v. Valeo, and to institute a system of public financing for all elections in the United States.[48] Wolf PAC's strategy is to call for an Article V convention to propose this amendment, rather than passing it through Congress, which it views as too corrupt. As of February 2015, four states, California, Vermont, Illinois and New Jersey have passed resolutions calling for such a convention.[49][50][51]

In September 2014, Senate Democrats attempt to campaign for a constitutional amendment that allow Congress and the states to limit the money raised and spent in election campaigns by outside groups, candidates and others,with a special aim at corporations and similar entities spending money on elections. Such action would according to Republicans violate the First Amendment right to free speech.[52]

Public financing of campaigns

Public financing of presidential campaigns

At the federal level, public funding is limited to subsidies for presidential campaigns. This includes (1) a "matching" program for the first $250 of each individual contribution during the primary campaign, (2) financing the major parties' national nominating conventions, and (3) funding the major party nominees' general election campaigns.[53]

To receive subsidies in the primary, candidates must qualify by privately raising $5000 each in at least 20 states. During the primaries, in exchange for agreeing to limit his or her spending according to a statutory formula, eligible candidates receive matching payments for the first $250 of each individual contribution (up to half of the spending limit). By refusing matching funds, candidates are free to spend as much money as they can raise privately.

From the inception of this program in 1976 through 1992, almost all candidates who could qualify accepted matching funds in the primary. In 1996 Republican Steve Forbes opted out of the program. In 2000, Forbes and George W. Bush opted out. In 2004 Bush and Democrats John Kerry and Howard Dean chose not to take matching funds in the primary. In 2008, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republicans John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul decided not to take primary matching funds. Republican Tom Tancredo[54] and Democrats Chris Dodd,[55] Joe Biden[56] and John Edwards elected to take public financing.

In addition to primary matching funds, the public funding program also assists with financing the major parties' (and eligible minor parties') presidential nominating conventions and funding the major party (and eligible minor party) nominees' general election campaigns. The grants for the major parties' conventions and general election nominees are adjusted each Presidential election year to account for increases in the cost of living. In 2012, each major party is entitled to $18.2 million in public funds for their conventions, and the parties' general election nominees are eligible to receive $91.2 million in public funds. If candidates accept public funds, they agree not to raise or spend private funds or to spend more than $50,000 of their personal resources.

No major party nominee turned down government funds for the general election from 1976, when the program was launched, until Barack Obama did so in 2008.[57] Obama again declined government funds for the 2012 campaign, as did Republican nominee Mitt Romney, setting up the only election since the program's launch in which neither major party nominee accepted federal funding.[58]

Eligibility of minor parties for public funds is based on showing in previous elections. The only party other than the Republicans and Democrats to receive government funding in a general election was the Reform Party, which qualified for public funding in 1996 and 2000 on the basis of Ross Perot's strong showing in the 1992 and 1996 elections.

The presidential public financing system is funded by a $3 tax check-off on individual tax returns (the check off does not increase the filer's taxes, but merely directs $3 of the government's general fund to the presidential fund). The number of taxpayers who use the check off has fallen steadily since the early 1980s, until by 2006 fewer than 8 percent of taxpayers were directing money to the fund, leaving the fund chronically short of cash.[59]

Public financing at the state and local level

A small number of states and cities have started to use broader programs for public financing of campaigns. One method, which its supporters call Clean Money, Clean Elections, gives each candidate who chooses to participate a fixed amount of money. To qualify for this subsidy, the candidates must collect a specified number of signatures and small (usually $5) contributions. The candidates are not allowed to accept outside donations or to use their own personal money if they receive this public funding. Candidates who choose to raise money privately rather than accept the government subsidy are subject to significant administrative burdens and legal restrictions, with the result that most candidates accept the subsidy. This procedure has been in place in races for all statewide and legislative offices in Arizona and Maine since 2000, where a majority of officials were elected without spending any private contributions on their campaigns. Connecticut passed a Clean Elections law in 2005, along with the cities of Portland, Oregon and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A 2003 study by GAO found, "It is too soon to determine the extent to which the goals of Maine’s and Arizona’s public financing programs are being met."[60]

In recent years, the movement for "Clean Elections" appears to have stalled. Proposition 89, a California ballot proposition in November 2006, sponsored by the California Nurses Union, that would have provided for public financing of political campaigns and strict contribution limits on corporations, was defeated. In 2008, the non-partisan California Fair Elections Act passed the legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger signed it, but the law did not take effect unless approved by voters in a referendum in 2010. In June 2010, voters soundly rejected the measure, 57% to 43%.[61] A proposal to implement Clean Elections in Alaska was voted down by a two-to-one margin in 2008,[62] and a pilot program in New Jersey was terminated in 2008 amid concern about its constitutionality and that the law was ineffective in accomplishing its goals. In 2010, Portland voters used a referendum to repeal the clean elections law, originally enacted by the city council.[63] In 2006, in Randall v. Sorrell, the Supreme Court held that large parts of Vermont's Clean Elections law were unconstitutional. In 2008, the Supreme Court's decision in Davis v. Federal Election Commission suggested that a key part of most Clean Election laws—a provision granting extra money (or "rescue funds") to participating candidates who are being outspent by non-participating candidates—is unconstitutional. In 2011, in Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, the Supreme Court struck down the matching funds provision of Arizona's law on First Amendment grounds.[64]

Sources of data

Type of data
level campaign finance lobbying voting
Federal Center for Responsive Politics

Center for Responsive Politics; MapLight

 MapLight
State

The National Institute on Money in State Politics maintains a publicly accessible database for campaign finance information for state-level races in all 50 states dating back to 1989.[65]

MapLight has state-level data for Wisconsin and California.

In Pennsylvania the Department of State maintains a database searchable by the public.[66] In California the Secretary of State maintains public databases on campaign finance and lobbying activities.[67]

 MapLight for Wisconsin and California
Local MapLight for a few locations.

Many localities have their own reporting requirements that are not listed here.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures (2010-01-20). "Contribution Limits: An Overview". Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  2. ↑ "The Money Behind the Elections". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "2008 campaign costliest in U.S. history". POLITICO. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Banking on Becoming President - OpenSecrets". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Dziedzic, Nancy (2012). Election Spending. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. ISBN 978-0-7377-5434-6.
  6. ↑ "Election Stats". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Where the Money Came From". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "A Century Of U.S. Campaign Finance Law". NPR.org. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Table taken from the FEC website on 14 January 2016.
  10. ↑ David D. Kirkpatrick (2007-08-31). "Use of Bundlers Raises New Risks for Campaigns". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ Robert G. Kaiser; Alice Crites (research contributor) (2007). "How lobbying became Washington's biggest business – Big money creates a new capital city. As lobbying booms, Washington and politics are transformed.". Citizen K Street (The Washington Post). Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  12. ↑ William Kerr, William Lincoln, Prachi Mishra (22 November 2011). "The dynamics of firm lobbying". VOX. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  13. ↑ Woodstock Theological Center (2002). "The Ethics of Lobbying: Organized Interests, Political Power, and the Common Good". Georgetown University Press. ISBN 0-87840-905-X. "(see page 1 of "The Ethics of Lobbying" chapter)"
  14. ↑ "SSFs and Nonconnected PACs". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "20090309PACcount". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Kurtzleben, Danielle (September 27, 2010). "DeMint's PAC Spends $1.5 Million in Independent Expenditures". U.S. News and World Report.
  17. ↑ Stern, Marcus; LaFleur, Jennifer (September 26, 2009). "Leadership PACs: Let the Good Times Roll". Pro Publica. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Leadership PACs and Sponsors". Federal Election Commission.
  19. ↑ "Congress 101: Political Action Committees". Congressional Quarterly.
  20. ↑ "Leadership PACs". Center for Responsive Politics.
  21. ↑ "Outside Spending (2010)". Center for Responsive Politics.
  22. ↑ "The New Price of American Politics" by James Bennet The Atlantic October 2012
  23. ↑ Cordes, Nancy (June 30, 2011). "Colbert gets a Super PAC; So what are they?". CBS News. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  24. ↑ Briffault, Richard. "Updating Disclosure for the New Era of Independent Spending". Journal of Law & Politics Vol. 27.4 (2012): 683–719. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 12 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "Internal Revenue Manual 501(c)(4) Nonprofit Organizations".
  26. ↑ "Political activity of environmental groups and their supporting foundations". U. S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. September 2008. p. 6. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  27. ↑ Luo, Michael; Strom, Stephanie (September 20, 2010). "Donor Names Remain Secret as Rules Shift". The New York Times.
  28. ↑ "Outside Spending". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  29. ↑ Two Dark Money Groups Outspending All Super PACs Combined by Kim Barker| ProPublica| Aug. 13, 2012
  30. ↑ See 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(4)(A).
  31. ↑ The Center for Public Integrity, 527 Frequently Asked Questions http://projects.publicintegrity.org/527/default.aspx?act=faq#5
  32. ↑ "The FEC and the Federal Campaign Finance Law: Disclosure". Federal Election Commission.
  33. ↑ Itkowitz, Colby. "Is your grocery bill supporting your political opponents? Now you can avoid it.". www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  34. ↑ McConnell v. Federal Election Comm'n, 540 U.S. 93, 123–24 & n.7 (2003)
  35. ↑ "Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission". Oyez. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  36. ↑ McConnell, 540 U.S. at 126.
  37. ↑ Bardes, Steffen W. Schmidt, Mack C. Shelley, Barbara A. (2009). American government & politics today (2009–2010 ed., alternate ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-495-56871-1.
  38. ↑ 527 organization#2004 election controversy
  39. ↑ Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 2010, "FEC.GOV", last accessed Apr. 10, 2012.
  40. ↑ "State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress". Journalist's Resource.org.
  41. ↑ Schouten, Fredreka (2013-02-19). "Supreme Court to hear case on campaign donation limits". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  42. ↑ http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-536_e1pf.pdf
  43. ↑ "CAMPAIGN FINANCE Historical Timeline" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  44. ↑ "DISCLOSE Act Could Deter Involvement in Elections". WashingtonPost.com. 2010-05-13.
  45. ↑ "DISCLOSE Act Faces GOP Filibuster In Senate". Huffingtonpost.com. 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  46. ↑ "DownWithTyranny!: GOP Filibuster Succeeds In Blocking Campaign Finance Reform". Downwithtyranny.blogspot.com. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  47. ↑ The Young Turks (October 19, 2011). "Cenk Announces Wolf-PAC.com at Occupy Wall Street". YouTube. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  48. ↑ "The Plan". Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  49. ↑ Video on YouTube
  50. ↑ MORGAN TRUE, 05/03/2014, Brattleboro Reformer, Vermont first state to call for constitutional convention to get money out of politics, Accessed July 22, 2014, "...Vermont became the first state to call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ... Monetta is the organizing director for Wolf PAC...
  51. ↑ "States meet to amend U.S. Constitution, bypass federal government", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 17 December 2014. Retrieved on 22 December 2014.
  52. ↑ Farm, Alan. "Senate Dems launch doomed election-season push for constitutional bar on outside groups' clout". AP. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  53. ↑ "Quick Answers: Public Funding". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  54. ↑ FEC.gov, Tancredo certification.
  55. ↑ FEC.gov, dodd eligible.
  56. ↑ "Biden cert". Fec.gov. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  57. ↑ "Obama to Break Promise, Opt Out of Public Financing for General Election". Blogs.abcnews.com. 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  58. ↑ Salant, Jonathan D. (2012-04-27). "Romney Shunning Federal Funds in Post-Watergate Election". Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  59. ↑ "Taxpayers elect not to pay for campaigns - USATODAY.com". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  60. ↑ "GAO-03-543 Campaign Finance Reform: Early Experiences of Two States That Offer Full Public Funding for Political Candidates" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  61. ↑ "California Proposition 15, Public Funding of Some Elections (June 2010)". Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  62. ↑ Anchorage Daily News
  63. ↑ http://lwvpdx.org/issues-and-advocacy/campaign-finance-reform
  64. ↑ http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-238.pdf
  65. ↑ "National Institute on Money in State Politics". National Institute on Money in State Politics. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  66. ↑ "Campaign Finance Information". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  67. ↑ "Welcome to Cal-Access". California Department of State. Retrieved December 10, 2012.

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