the federal election commission and campaign finance regulation campaign finance
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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