American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS| 207

Other evidence suggests that campaign advertising has several benefi cial

eff ects. Scholars have found that people who are exposed to campaign ads tend to

be more interested in the campaign and know more about the candidates.^29 More-

over, many campaign ads highlight real diff erences between the candidates and

the parties.^30 Even so, average citizens know that they cannot believe everything

they see on television, so campaign advertising typically captures their attention

without necessarily changing their minds.^31

Campaign Finance

Campaign fi nance refers to money collected for and spent on campaigns and

elections by candidates, political parties, and other organizations and individu-

als. The Federal Election Commission is in charge of administering election

laws, including the complex regulations pertaining to how campaigns can spend

money. The most recent changes in campaign fi nance rules, which were passed as

the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCR A), took eff ect after the 2002 elections

and have been modifi ed by subsequent Supreme Court decisions. (In particular,

the 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission removed all

restrictions on campaign funding by corporations and labor unions.)

TYPES OF FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS

The limits on campaign contributions in the BCR A—also known as the McCain–
Feingold Act—vary depending on whether contributions are made by an individual
or a group, and by the type of group, as Table 7.1 shows. During the 2012 elections,
for example, individuals could contribute up to $2,500 to a candidate per election
(donations to the primary and general elections count separately), $28,500 to a
political party, $10,000 to a state party, and $5,000 to a political action commit-
tee (PAC), with an overall limit of about $100,000. Individuals and corporations
can also (1) make unlimited contributions to 527 organizations (see below), which
can use the money for voter mobilization eff orts or issue advocacy as long as they
do not directly support or oppose a particular candidate, and (2) spend unlimited
amounts on expenditures that are not connected to a particular candidate, party,
or committee.
PACs are groups that aim to elect or defeat particular candidates or political
parties. A company or organization can form a PAC and solicit contributions from
employees or group members. As Table 7.1 shows, the amount PACs can give to each
candidate in an election is limited, but these limits only pertain to hard money—
the funds given directly to a candidate. PACs can also form what are known as
527 organizations (named after the Internal Revenue Code provision that allows
them), which can then accept unlimited amounts of soft money. Ads by 527s can-
not advocate the election or defeat of a particular candidate or political party.^32
Another type of organization, again described using the IRS code, is a 501(c)(4). The
principal diff erence between 527s and 501(c)(4)s is that the latter type of organiza-
tion does not have to disclose the names of its contributors. (See Chapter 8 for more
on PACs, 527s, and 501(c)(4)s.)
As discussed in Chapter 6, political party committees are entities within the
Republican and Democratic parties. Both major parties have a national commit-
tee and a campaign committee in each house of Congress. Party committees are

Federal Election Commission

The government agency that

enforces and regulates election

laws; made up of six presidential

appointees, of whom no more than

three can be members of the same

party.

hard money Donations that are

used to help elect or defeat a spe-

cifi c candidate.

soft money Contributions that can

be used for voter mobilization or to

promote a policy proposal or point

of view as long as these efforts are

not tied to supporting or opposing a

particular candidate.