1. Ch 7 Sec 3
Money and Elections

2. Campaign Spending is Increasingly Important
While the text focuses on the “rules” of money in politics, its more important to know the trends of spending and the different types of money and groups.
The rules are ever evolving and constantly changing.

3. Candidates and Sources of Funding
There are two basic sources of campaign money.
Private (The bulk of money is this; from a multitude of sub-sources)
Public (5% threshold in previous elections to qualify)

4. Private Sources There are many different types of private sources:
Small contributions- $5 to $10 donations from unknown donors
Wealthy donors (these are disclosed)
Candidates personal finances
Political Action Committees (PAC)

5. The Federal Elections Commission
This is the small group that is empowered to monitor and regulate elections in this country.
6 members confirmed by the senate-tends to be split politically
They have a very difficult job as there are limited resources at their disposal
They have four responsibilities:
Require timely disclosure of campaign finance data
Limit campaign contributions
Limit campaign expenditures
Provide public funding for presidential election cycles

6. Disclosure Cant donate in another's name
Gifts of over $100 are prohibited
Foreign sources are prohibited
Only one campaign committee is allowed per candidate
Anything over $200 must be logged and dated
Anything spent over $200 must be logged and dated as well
And contribution over $5000 must be reported within 48 hours.

7. Limits on Contributions
This has drastically changed in the past few years.
Contributions are nearly unlimited through a combination of methods at this point

8. PACs There are two types: Political arms of companies or unions
Unconnected issues groups

9. Hard Money, Soft Money Hard Money-raised specifically for a campaign
Soft Money-funds given to a party for general use
Hard money tends to be regulated better (in the past at least) than the use of Soft money
Bottom line: spending has increased with more loopholes and less understanding where the money is coming from.