Election season is in full swing. Candidates are asking for a lot of money because political campaigns can cost anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars. And this year is the year of the fundraising text message:
Help women win, from the bottom of the ballot to the very top. Donate now!
Kamala’s lead over Trump is getting BIGGER. We can’t slow down. 88 days to help Dems WIN!
YES! For the next 60 minutes, we’re 600% -matching all donations to PUSH TRUMP TO VICTORY!
A staggering 100 million texts per week asking for money are being sent by political parties, political committees, and political action committees (PACs) – organizations that raise money privately to influence elections or legislation, especially at the federal level.
Political parties and political committees – for example, Harris for President or Trump’s Save America – work directly with the candidates and have contribution limits of $3,300 per individual. Political action committees (PACs) – organizations that raise money privately to influence elections or legislation, especially at the federal level – also have contribution limits. They cannot accept more than $5,000 from an individual per candidate. These entities give money and support to candidates.
And then there are “expenditure only” Super PACs, which are not connected with candidates and spend money on things like television ads and campaign flyers that come to our mailboxes. They can accept unlimited money and spend unlimited money, as long as they don’t contribute directly to a candidate.
So when we donate through one of these text messages claiming to support a candidate, how do we know where the money is going? The problem is we don’t always know. It can be very difficult to tell because there are very few limits on what PACs are allowed to say or how they advertise themselves. In fact, there is a proliferation of “scam PACs” that do nothing but fundraise – and pay “consultants” exorbitant fees.
OpenSecrets identified 86 “scam PACs” in the 2022 cycle. One example was called Law Enforcement for a Safer America PAC, and it raised $14 million – 87% of which went toward what they identified as “fundraising expenses” but were actually untraceable shell corporations. These “scam PACs” prey on people, especially seniors, who trust their money is helping their issue or preferred candidate succeed.
This doesn’t mean all Super PACs are bad – many are doing important work like sponsoring phone banking or running social media ads to keep voters informed. But it’s important to do research into any PAC before donating.
To make sure your donation is being used for its intended purpose 1) donate directly to a candidate by visiting the candidate’s official website and donate from there to ensure they are giving to the political committee, 2) make sure that Super PACs describe the actual work they are doing in writing, and finally 3) use the Federal Election Committee’s website to look up any PAC’s expenditure report to ensure that money is going to election work, like advertisements and literature.