A new study by the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) offers several prime examples of how elected officials have managed to legally receive six-figure donations from special interests that ordinarily are banned. For instance, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is prevented under California law from directly accepting more than $25,900 from each contributor during an election cycle. But through his ballot measure committee, “Schwarzenegger’s California Dream Team,” the GOP governor has taken in eight contributions exceeding $100,000, 15 contributions of $100,000, 16 contributions between $50,000 and $100,000, and 44 contributions between $25,000 and $50,000.

 

Another way of avoiding campaign finance limits is through inaugural committees. Republican Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia legally received $200,000 from AT&T in 2007, “four times as much as any other donor and 20 times what the corporation could have donated directly to the governor’s reelection campaign,” according to the Center.

 

CGS proposes a law that considers almost all funds raised by politicians, campaign and non-campaign, subject to contribution limits. Opponents of campaign financing reform claim that it is a violation of the First Amendment.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Politicians Evade Contribution Limits Using Loopholes in Laws: Unlimited Sums Can Still Flow into Many Political Funds (Center for Governmental Studies)

Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs: Evasions of Campaign Finance Laws, and a Model Law to Block Them (Center for Governmental Studies) (pdf)

Study: The First Amendment is a Loophole (by Jeff Patch, Center for Competitive Politics)