The Electoral Process

Chapter 7

MONEY AND ELECTIONSSection 3

Campaign Spending

• Campaign spending continues to increase in recent years.– 2008 presidential races totaled $2.5 billion– Average House seat $1 million; Senate $1.8 million

• Spent on staff, office space, advertising, travel expenses.

Sources of Funding

• Private contributors– Small contributors - $5 to $10– Wealthy individuals contribute thousands of dollars during

elections to candidates or PACs– Candidates often contribute their own money.– “non-party” groups; especially Political Action Committees

(PACs) raise and spend millions of dollars during campaigns.– Temporary organizations – often times holding $100, $500,

$1,000 per plate social events.• Public Sources– Government provides grants to candidates at the national

level and some state entities do as well.

Regulating Finance

• Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, FECA Amendments of 1974 and 1976 and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 all sought to prevent Corporations, banks, and other groups with seemingly endless resources from bankrolling a campaign.

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)– Limiting campaign financing of individuals to Political

Action Committees is a violation of 1st amendment rights.– Campaign Finance and the rise of Super PACs

Federal Election Commission

• FEC is an independent government agency– The laws that the FEC is supposed to enforce cover

four broad areas.• Require the timely disclosure of campaign finance data• Place limits on campaign contributions• Place limits on campaign expenditures• Provide public funding for several parts of the

presidential election process.

– Laws often aren’t enforced because FEC is underfunded and understaffed

Hard Money, Soft Money

• Hard money are those contributions that are given directly to candidates for their campaigns for Congress or the White house, are limited in amount, and must be reported.

• Soft money are funds given to parties or to other political organizations, unlimited amounts, to be used for such “party-building activities” as voter registration or get-out-the-vote drives or for campaigns over particular public policy issues.