Anonymous Money in Campaigns: Is Sunlight the Best Disinfectant?
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Daniel E. Chand
Daniel E. Chand is an Assistant Professor in the Government Department at New Mexico State University. He teaches for both the department’s Masters of Public Administration and Masters of Government programs. His research focuses are political activities of nonprofit organizations and policy implementation as applied to interior immigration enforcement.
Abstract
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), applications flooded the IRS to establish political 501(c) nonprofits. This increased popularity in creating 501(c)s is fueled by the fact that 501(c) nonprofits are not required to release their donor information, as opposed to PACs and super PACs that operate transparently. Consequently, those who are interested in keeping their political activities secret, including, presumably, for-profit businesses, have mostly contributed to political 501(c)s. This study seeks to better explain the dark-money phenomenon by examining all outside expenditures in the 2010 and 2012 congressional elections. It finds that dark-money groups are mostly conservative organizations utilizing 501(c)s and occasionally 501(c)s and super PACs simultaneously. It also provides a discussion of efforts to increase transparency in both federal and state elections, and provides some support to the theory that dark-money groups will avoid activity in strongly regulated races.
About the author
Daniel E. Chand is an Assistant Professor in the Government Department at New Mexico State University. He teaches for both the department’s Masters of Public Administration and Masters of Government programs. His research focuses are political activities of nonprofit organizations and policy implementation as applied to interior immigration enforcement.
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©2015 by De Gruyter
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- The Changing Face of Unions and White Labor Support for the Democratic Party
- The Fundraising Disadvantages Confronting American Political Parties
- Super PAC Spending Strategies and Goals
- Anonymous Money in Campaigns: Is Sunlight the Best Disinfectant?
- Return to Spender: The Electoral Connection’s Effect on Veto Challenges and Overrides
- Ideological Migration in Partisan Strongholds: Evidence from a Quantitative Case Study
- Book reviews
- Government against Itself: Public Union Power and Its Consequences
- Is Bipartisanship Dead? Policy Agreement and Agenda-Setting in the House of Representatives
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- The Changing Face of Unions and White Labor Support for the Democratic Party
- The Fundraising Disadvantages Confronting American Political Parties
- Super PAC Spending Strategies and Goals
- Anonymous Money in Campaigns: Is Sunlight the Best Disinfectant?
- Return to Spender: The Electoral Connection’s Effect on Veto Challenges and Overrides
- Ideological Migration in Partisan Strongholds: Evidence from a Quantitative Case Study
- Book reviews
- Government against Itself: Public Union Power and Its Consequences
- Is Bipartisanship Dead? Policy Agreement and Agenda-Setting in the House of Representatives