Download Chapter 10.3

Chapter 10.3
Paying for Election Campaigns
Running for Office
A campaign for a major office takes a lot
of money.
 A campaign organization runs each
campaign. Campaign workers acquaint
voters with the candidate’s name, face
and positions on issues. They try to
convince voters to like and trust the
candidates.

continued

Candidates and campaign workers canvass
neighborhoods asking for votes, handing out
literature and conducting public opinion polls.
 Famous people may endorse or publicly
support a candidate. If voters like the
endorser, they may decide to vote for the
candidate. Endorsements are a kind of
propaganda, or attempt to promote a
particular person or idea.
continued

Much campaign money is spent on
political advertising. Ads help create the
candidates’ image, present their views
and attack their opponents. Local
candidates often use newspaper ads,
while national candidates use more TV
ads.
continued

Campaign funds pay for TV ads, airfares,
worker salaries and professional
campaign consultants. They also pay for
computers, phones, postage and printing
costs. Local races may cost only a few
thousand dollars. Congressional races
average about $1.5 million. A
presidential race can cost hundreds of
millions of dollars.
Financing a Campaign

In the past, the public wondered if
successful candidates would owe special
favors to the individuals, businesses and
labor unions that contributed to their
campaigns. The Federal Election
Campaign Finance Act of 1971 set some
rules.
continued

The Campaign Finance Act required
public disclosure of each candidate’s
spending and tried to limit the amount an
individual or group could donate. It also
created public funding of presidential
elections. Taxpayers can contribute $3
to the Presidential Election Campaign
Fund by checking a box on their tax
form.
continued

Candidates qualify for a share of these
funds if they raise $100,000 on their
own. The two major-party candidates
receive an equal share as long as they
agree not to accept any other direct
donations. 3rd party candidates qualify if
their party received more than 5% of the
popular vote in the previous presidential
election.
continued

Most campaign funding comes from private
sources – individuals, party organizations and
corporations, plus a wide variety of interest
groups.
 After presidential candidates receive their
federal funds and the modest amounts that
individuals and groups give them directly, their
fund-raising is supposed to be finished.
However, candidates have found ways around
the limits.
continued

One way is soft money – donations
given to political parties and not
designated for a particular candidate. By
law, parties can raise an unlimited
amount of soft money, but they must use
it for general expenses.
continued

The parties, however, have found ways
to use soft money to support their
candidates without giving them money
directly. Most of it goes to national TV
ads. Soft money provides a way for
wealthy people and groups to donate as
much as they want.
continued

Another way around the limits is political
action committees (PACs). These are
political organizations established by
corporations, labor unions and other
special-interest groups designed to
support candidates by contributing
money. PACs support candidates who
favor their position on issues by
contributing to their parties.
continued
In a democracy, gov’t should represent all the
people, even those without money or power.
Critics of the current system argue that
wealthy donors may receive special favors not
available to average citizens.
 In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that it was
the violation of free speech to limit how much
candidates could spend on their own
campaigns. As a result, wealthy candidates
spend huge amounts of their own money to
get elected.

continued

Congress continues to debate plans to
reform campaign finance. Because
PACs give most of their soft money to
incumbents – people currently in office
– many lawmakers hesitate to change
the rules in ways that could help their
opponents.