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Posted on August 19, 2012
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Public Affairs
Connections - Million-Dollar Megaphones: Super PACs and Unlimited Outside Spending in the 2012 Elections
Spending by so-called "super PACs," which can accept unlimited contributions but must disclose the names of their donors and may not coordinate with candidates' campaigns, and 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) organizations that aggregate unlimited contributions — much of it undisclosed — is playing a significant role in the 2012 election cycle, a report from Demos and the
U.S. PIRG Education Fund finds. Based on Federal Election Commission data and other sources, the report, Million-Dollar Megaphones: Super PACs and Unlimited Outside Spending in the 2012 Elections (26 pages, PDF), finds that while the top five 501(c)(4) spenders have poured $53 million into campaign advertising in the presidential race alone, they have reported only $420,920 in spending on all races to the FEC. Meanwhile, a small number of wealthy individuals and institutions dominate the super PACs, with more than 57 percent of the $230 million raised from individuals coming from just forty-seven people who gave at least $1 million each. The report also notes that 7.6 percent of all outside spending and 2.8 percent of the funds raised by super PACs cannot be traced to a source.
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