THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE REGULATION

Campaign Finance

Key Terms to Remember

PAC: established by businesses, labor unions, and interest groups to channel money to campaigns

Hard money: contributions restricted by campaign law

Soft money: unregulated money contributed to parties for the purpose of party building activities

Issue ads: ads that seek to inform citizens about critical issues. Some claim that this is a loophole to campaign finance.

The Federal Election Commission is…

An Independent Regulatory AgencyResponsible for Enforcing Campaign Finance

LawRegulator of U.S. House, Senate and

Presidential Elections

Major changes to the FECA

Set limits on contributionsEstablished the FECBuckley v. ValeoBipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

Banned soft money at the national level Restricted issue ads Increased contribution limits Indexed limits for inflation

Citizens United v. FEC (2010) Government may NOT ban corporate spending in a

political campaign

Other characteristics

Income tax check-off for public financing of presidential elections and party conventions

Establishes matching funds program for primary elections

First publicly funded election in 1976 (Ford v. Carter)

National elections ONLY…NOT state or local elections

Banned Contributions

Foreign nationals Those with green cards are able to contribute

Government contractorsCorporations and Labor UnionsContributions in the name of anotherNo cash contributions over $100

What counts as a contribution?

Any donated items such as office supplies and equipment

Discounted pricingFundraiser ticketsLoans and loan endorsements

Independent Expenditures

Money spent for a communication that specifically pushes for the election or defeat of a federal candidate

Not connected with a campaign organizationDoes NOT count as contributionUnlimited (Buckley)Disclosure within communication