Raising Money
Independent Expenditures
Spending for Campaign activity that is not coordinated with a candidate's Campaign.
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
(John McCain, Russell Feingold, and President George W. Bush) Regulates political advertising and funding. Limited the broadcast of issue advocacy ads within thirty days of a primary election and sixty days of a general election, and set hard limits on campaign contributions from a number of sources.
Corrupt Practices Act, Hatch Act, and Taft-Harley Act
Attempted to regulate the manner in which federal candidates finance their campaigns and to some extent limit the corrupting influence of campaign spending.
Personal Savings
Candidates can dip into their families' personal savings as much as they want.
Political Parties
Candidates receive substantial donations from national and state committees of the Democratic and Republican parties. $5,000 per election for House candidates and $45,5000 for a Senate candidate.
Federal Election Commission
Created to enforce the nation's election laws. Monitor infractions of campaign finance rules and acts as a quasi-judicial arbiter in conflicts.
Citizens United v. FEC
Declared unconstitutional BCRA's ban in electioneering communications made by corporations and unions. Made Suoer PAC's become more important.
Federal Election Campaign Act
Established disclosure requirements
Super PACS
Fastest-growing and most significant actor in elections. Special kind of political action committee established to make independent expenditures. They may not give money directly to candidates or party committees. They may advocate on behalf of candidates. They must disclose the sources of their contributions to the FEC, but they may take money from any person or organization interested in influencing the political process. They are not subject to contribution or expenditure limits.
Individuals
Individual contributions are donations from independent citizens. First limited at $2,600 per election to each candidate, but changed to unlimited after McCutcheon v. FEC. Unlimited checks cannot be written to favorite candidates.
501 Groups
Interest groups whose primary purpose is not electoral politics. No more than half of their budget can be spent on campaign politics. Most of their electoral activity focuses on raising awareness of candidates' positions in issues of interest to the group. Are not required to disclose the source of their donations.
Buckley v. Valeo
No limit can be placed on the amount of money candidates can spend from their own families' resources, since such spending is considered a First Amendment right of speech.
Political Action Committees
Officially recognized fund-raising organizations allowed by federal law to make contributions directly to candidates' campaigns. 1970s= Modern PAC era. Labor unions, corporations, trade unions, etc. $5000 for candidates and $15,000 for national party committees. Believed to be the most corrupt.
527 Political Committee
Organizations created with the primary purpose of influencing electoral outcomes. Freestanding interest groups. Very limited government regulation. No limit on the money.
Tillman Act
Prohibited corporations from making direct contributions to candidates for federal office.
Civil Service Reform Legislation
Prohibited solicitation of political funds from federal workers, attempting to halt a corrupt and long-held practice.
Presidential Public Funding Program
Provided partial public funding for presidential candidates who meet certain criteria.
McCutcheon v. FEC
The Supreme Court struck down the aggregate limits on the amount of money individuals may contribute to all federal candidates, parties, and political action committees combined.
