Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

The Edwards campaign has asked the FEC to rule on ActBlue and whether these
contributions can be counted for matching grant purposes. Edwards’
argument (pdf) is available. AdamB
did a detailed post if you don’t follow this sort of thing.

So here’s the problem — as you know by now, not everything is matchable. The main category is "contributions over $250", but also listed in the regulations regarding the list of sources for funds that can be matched is the explicit statement that for a check to be matchable, it must be "written on a personal, escrow or trust account representing or containing the contributor’s personal funds." And, what’s worse, listed among those sources of funds which are explicitly not-matchable are Contributions in the form of a check drawn on the account of a committee, corporation, union or government contractor even though the funds represent personal funds earmarked by a contributing individual to a Presidential candidate; 11 CFR 9034.3(f) And ActBlue is, indeed, a committee that’s writing checks which represent personal funds earmarked by a contributing individual to a Presidential candidate. So, the Edwards campaign has sent an Advisory Opinion request to the Federal Election Commission asking if it can consider ActBlue funds to be matchable. (Basically, an Advisory Opinion request is the means by which you can obtain advance clearance from the FEC for your plans.) Here’s the nub of what they’re arguing: The basic thrust of Commission regulations at 11 C.F.R. §9034.3(f) is to clarify that contributions from illegal sources such as corporations, unions or government contractors cannot be matched, even when the ultimate source of those contributions is individual personal funds. As discussed above, ActBlue’s process is designed to avoid such contributions. Therefore, there is little danger that contributions processed through ActBlue would result in matching contributions that do not qualify for such. Nor is this a situation in which contributions made through ActBlue count both as a contribution from the individual contributor, and a contribution from ActBlue. Rather, such donations are treated only as contributions from the individual contributor. …this regulation was adopted approximately 30 years ago and reflects an early focus of the law and the Commission on the use of committees as a subterfuge enabling wealthy or illegal donors to evade contribution limitations. Given technological developments, including computerized reporting, the Commission and the public have available efficient and effective methods for tracking and monitoring contributions. I agree. I can see no conceivable purpose for campaign finance law that would be served by treating the ActBlue contributions as not-matchable under the law. This is technology being used to encourage small-dollar contributions which are at the heart of reforming our campaign system, and to treat it as dirty money seems ludicrous. … ..

Edwards is down to the wire on this decision, so if you’ve got expertise in
this area and are interested you can contact the FEC:

Comments must be submitted in writing to the Commission Secretary with a duplicate copy to the Office of General Counsel. Comments in legible and complete form may be submitted by fax machine to the Secretary at (202) 208-3333 and to OGC at (202) 219-3923. The deadline for the submission of comments is 12:00pm noon (Eastern Time) on December 13,2007.

Public comments can be directed to: Mary Dove.