ELECTIONS - Campaign Finance Flashcards
What is a PAC?
These are groups who can raise a $5000 donation per campaign and can donate directly to the campaign
What is a 527?
These are groups that can raise unlimited amounts and cannot call for the election or defeat of a candidate
What is a Super-PAC?
These are groups that can raise unlimited amounts and can call for the election or defeat of a candidate but they cannot collaborate with those campaigns
What is soft money?
Soft money is money donated to a party rather than a candidate - these are used for ‘party-building activities’ rather than the actual endorsement of a candidate directly.
This is very unrestricted because despite being used for party-building, this is all going towards the campaign.
What is hard money?
Hard money refers to donations given directly to an electoral campaign - this is subject to strict limits. It is all declared stuff.
What is the BIPARTISAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM ACT 2002?
a.k.a the McCain - Feingold
This banned soft money donations to national parties and raised individual contribution limit to $2000 per candidate per election.
Corporations and labour unions are banned from funding issue advertisement.
This prohibits electioneering communications = this is essentially refers to federal candidates within 60 days of a general election by corporations and labour unions.
The Stand By Your Ad provision requires candidates to endorse campaign adverts to discourage attack adverts or any controversial claims.
What is the CITIZEN’S UNITED V FEC 2010 case?
This case was brought to the S.C by a non-profit organisation called Citizens United, They wanted to air a critical film of Clinton on TV in 2008.
The US District Court of Columbia had ruled that the broadcast clearly violated the McCain Feingold Act which prohibited broadcasts that mentioned any presidential candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary.
The SC reversed this decision because they believed the previous 2002 act prohibited the First Amendment Right of free expression/free speech.
What is the impact of the CITIZEN’S UNITED V FEC 2010 case?
It effectively determined that money is free speech and so campaign limits that were in place on organisations was unconstitutional.
This gave corporate and labour organisations the same political free speech as individuals… these groups then had the right of unlimited and independent political expenditure.
It led to the establishment of the independent Super PACs (independent expenditure-only committees)
They could solicit unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, unions, and other physical committees - they can use their money to achieve their desires but they must not make any contribution to federal candidates/parties.
What is the McCutcheon V FEC 2014 case?
This case established rules that the aggregate cap placed on individuals limiting the number of candidates they can donate to within an election cycle is unconstitutional.
In following cases, the SC has continued to favour supporting the first amendment right.
Where do the Parties get money from?
- Republican and Democrat Committees raise money during campaign season.
- Presidential candidates raise money themselves via donations.
- Super-PACs raise money to hurt or help candidates.
- Anonymous donors (Big spenders)
WHERE DOES MONEY GET SPENT?
Organisation
Pay for lower admin staff all the way up to the specialist political consultants.
In 2020, Biden promised all of his staff would be paid a minimum hourly rate of 15% in addition to free healthcare and sick leave benefits.
Consumed over 10% of Biden’s campaign budget in 2020.
WHERE DOES MONEY GET SPENT?
Campaigning
Costs of venues, hotels etc.
During Democrat Primary campaign, Biden spent $12,075 on food from a restaurant called Got Paella.
WHERE DOES MONEY GET SPENT?
Media
Bulk of expenditure
67% for Trump
80%+ for Biden
This constitutes for Ads, social media campaigns, roadside billboards etc.
What are Federal matching funds?
FMF are the money supplied to the campaign funds via public resources.
These funds match donations made by individual contributors = dollar-to-dollar up to a max of $250 per donation.
Candidates are not forced to take the funds but if they do, they have to restrict their spending to $40 million during the primaries.
Those who decline, can spend however much they want - they are still bound by the $2000 contribution limit from each individual.
What evidence do we have to suggest matching funds are declining?
Barack Obama cheated the system - he didn’t sign up to the matching funds because he didn’t want to ‘burden the taxpayer’
Trump didn’t take any, Clinton didn’t either.
John McCain DID use the system in 2008 and he had massive campaign disadvantages.
They are declining because any self-respecting presidential candidate would not accept $96 million for the general election campaign and $48 million for the primaries, when private investors in the political process are prepared to up the ante to billions.
