Campaigns/Finance/PACs

Question 1

Majority-minority districts

Answer 1

A majority-minority district is one in which a racial or ethnic minority makes up a large-enough share of the electorate to assure that the community has a reasonable chance to elect the candidate of their choice.

Question 2

Caucuses (as part of the presidential nominating process)

Answer 2

caucuses are all day gatherings where people from the same party get together to talk and strategize. These caucuses have delegates which then vote on a presidential nominee (dc this)

Question 3

Super-Delegates

Answer 3

(in the Democratic Party) an unelected delegate who is free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party’s national convention.

Question 4

Candidate-centered versus party-centered campaigns

Answer 4

party centered: messaging, money, recruitment of candidates

candidate centered: self-selected, self-funded, fundraising

**party centered campaigns help responsible party government and most candidate centered campaigns loose

Question 5

Bundling (regarding campaign contributions)

Answer 5

A bundled contribution is any contribution that is either:
Forwarded to a reporting committee by a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC;

or
Received by the reporting committee and credited to a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC through “records, designations, or other means of recognizing that a certain amount of money has been raised.”

Question 6

Federal Election Campaign Act (historic now, from the 1970s)

Answer 6

created reporting requirements for federal candidates and a legal framework for political action committees (PACs).

1974 amendments:
individuals can contribute $1,000 per election
and PACs can contribute $5,000 per election

Question 7

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act – also known as the McCain-Feingold law

Answer 7

all contributions to parties are now counted against a limit (no more “soft money”)

inflation-adjusted contribution limits rise with each election: 2700/candidate/election

limits an interest on group advertisements

Question 8

soft money vs. hard money contributions to campaigns

soft money

Answer 8

Campaign contributions that are referred to as soft money are those raised by national and state parties that are not regulated by the federal campaign finance law because they are not contributed directly to a candidate but rather to a party committee for its use in generic “party building” activities and etc.

Question 9

soft money vs. hard money contributions to campaigns

hard money

Answer 9

By contrast, hard money is federally regulated campaign contributions and other moneys spent to influence the outcome of a federal election. Individuals are subject to an annual limit of $25,000 on contributions they can make to federal candidates, party committees, and PACs (2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(3)).

Question 10

Name the key difference between 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organizations regarding transparency of
funding. What do these numbers refer to?

Answer 10

501 (c) 3 and 501 (c) 4 are tax codes for different organizations under the IRS tax code.

501(c)3 organizations enjoy tax-free status, yet these organizations have to reveal who donors are. They have limited lobbying powers. They advocate for policies, not candidates.

Examples: ACLU :(, NRA :), Disabled American Veterans, etc.

501(c) 4 organizations are listed as “social welfare organizations” under the IRS tax code. These organizations focus on political advocacy. They use more dark money because they are not required by law to reveal who their donors are.

Question 11

political action committees

Answer 11

(in the US) an organization that raises money privately to influence elections or legislation, especially at the federal level.

Question 12

parties as organizations

Answer 12

professional staff who are on the job all year: recruit candidates, nominate, candidates, organize presidential nominating conventions, write party platforms, raise money, and conduct public education.