DEAR SUN SPOTS: Is there a way to find out who donates to a politician’s campaign and how much? Are politicians required to make that list available to potential voters? Are they allowed to accept donations outside of their campaign? I am particularly interested in lobbyists. As always, thank you for your efforts. —Marilyn Burgess, [email protected]

ANSWER: Disclosure of campaign donors is a complicated issue, so Sun Spots cannot cover it all, but she will try to address your questions and hit a couple of high points.

The first thing to consider is whether it is a state (including local) or federal election. Starting with federal, according to the Federal Election Commission (www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/fecfeca.shtml#Disclosure):

“The Federal Election Campaign Act requires candidate committees, party committees and PACs to file periodic reports disclosing the money they raise and spend. Candidates must identify, for example, all PACs and party committees that give them contributions, and they must identify individuals who give them more than $200 in an election cycle. Additionally, they must disclose expenditures exceeding $200 per election cycle to any individual or vendor.”

There are also limits as to how much can be given (see chart on the same website) to individuals and most groups — not all. 

For example, there are several different levels of political action committees. Some PACs must adhere to both the reporting and contribution limit regulations, but there are exceptions.

One is SuperPACs. SuperPACs do disclose their finances, but they have no limits on the size of donations. As “independent-expenditure only committees,” they cannot give directly to a candidate and are supposed to operate independently of the campaign, but they can expressly advocate for a candidate. (Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart did a great bit on how easily these limitations can be gotten around; see http://tinyurl.com/7zkxdrv.)

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, as of Aug. 23, 2012, 797 SuperPACs had raised upwards of $349 million, with 60 percent of that money coming from just 100 donors. For example, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which financed the “swiftboat” ad against presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, was a SuperPAC, also commonly referred to as a 527.

For those contributors who want to hide their identities when they give, 501(c)(4)s are the weapon of choice. The Internal Revenue Service classifies these groups as social welfare organizations. Wikipedia notes that they “are only required to disclose their spending on political activity, and not information on their donors unless those donors give for the express purpose of political advocacy.

“The use of 501(c)(4) organizations for political advocacy has contributed to the sharp rise in outside spending that occurs without disclosure of donors. In 2006 just a bit more than 1 percent of political spending other than that done by political parties and campaign committees did not disclose donors, but by 2010 it had risen to 44 percent. And as of August 2012, two of the biggest 501(c)(4) groups (Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity) had put more money into the presidential campaign than all the SuperPACs combined, according to ProPublica.”

There are a couple of websites that you will find useful in seeking data on specific candidate spending. One is www.opensecrets.org/news/disclosure.php, which is from the Center for Responsive Politics and a great place for campaign information. The other is www.fec.org from the Federal Election Commission. Both have searchable databases.

In Maine, you will want to check out the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices (www.maine.gov/ethics/index.htm), which has a special section for the public to search out and view the kind of information you’re seeking (https://secure.mainecampaignfinance.com/PublicSite/Homepage.aspx).

Finally, as for lobbyists, almost every major industry in the country (for example, wood products) hires lobbyists to promote policies that will help businesses in those industries. Like individuals and businesses, lobbyists are limited as to how much money they can give directly to a candidate, but as Wikipedia notes, “lobbyists often assist congresspersons with campaign finance by arranging fundraisers, assembling PACs and seeking donations from other clients. Many lobbyists become campaign treasurers and fundraisers for congresspersons.”

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