3 ms·

I'd like to get someone who knows more than me to weigh in here, but as a 527 I'm raising the money to directly influence elections as a primary purpose. Most 5

I'd like to get someone who knows more than me to weigh in here, but as a 527 I'm raising the money to directly influence elections as a primary purpose. Most 501s can only focus on issue advocacy and can't run ads like this without losing their non-profit status. From what I understand of election law, we should be in the clear for running ads supporting/opposing representatives.

pvg 6y ago
A 527 that advertises 'vote them out' has to comply with state and federal campaign finance regulations. A 527 that doesn't explicitly do that doesn't. I'd like to get someone who knows more I want to say this as politely as I can but... shouldn't you have that sorted out before taking money from people?
- r3trohack3r 6y ago
  > Shouldn't you have that sorted out before taking money from people? I believe I have, though haven't done a great job of sharing that context! I've gotten input on our structure from folks w/ experience and legal background saying this is sound, but very much welcome additional input. I understand that ignorance of the law doesn't retroactively exempt you from the law. The more eyes we have on our structure the better; I suspect we will come under quite a bit of scrutiny as we make progress and would like to have our house in order when that happens.
  - pvg 6y ago
    I guess my question is, if you're raising money not-for-a-campaign but on issues, how are you then going to use that money for explicit advocacy for a candidate's election, where limits actually kick in. Isn't that the whole point of 'superpac' style 527s - that they don't do that and are thus not subject to those regulations? Can you talk a bit about this? 'Vote for this person' is precisely the type of ad these orgs don't make because their financing is regulated.
    - r3trohack3r 6y ago
      There are different forms of 527s. We are specifically a 527 that supports/opposes more than one Federal candidate, is not a segregated fund or party committee, is not a Lobbyist/Registrant PAC, and is not a Leadership PAC. (On FEC form 1 this is box (f) under section 5) Under this, the guidance I've been given is that we can publicly support and oppose candidates, make unlimited independent expenditures and we can raise funds in unlimited amounts. The primary restriction is that we can not use those funds to make contributions, whether direct, in-kind, or via coordinated communications, to federal candidates or committees. Our interpretation of that is we can run ads like these as long as we don't coordinate those ads directly with a campaign. The FEC has a support line for getting guidance on campaign finance law. I've taken the guidance we've been given and run it through them. The FEC indicated we were in the clear. That being said, I'll call back Monday morning when they are open and ask your specific question to make sure our green light isn't a result of how I worded my questions.
      - r3trohack3r 6y ago
        Wanted to follow up after calling the FEC. The way we’ve incorporated, directly advocating for/against one or more federal candidates isn’t just an option, it’s mandatory. In order for us to qualify as the type of 527 we have registered for we are legally required to campaign for/against candidates. We are able to raise money without limits and spend that on advocating for or against candidates. The limits kick in when we are donating to a campaign or coordinating with a campaign.
        pvg 6y ago
        What type of 527 is that?
        r3trohack3r 6y ago
        > We are specifically a 527 that supports/opposes more than one Federal candidate, is not a segregated fund or party committee, is not a Lobbyist/Registrant PAC, and is not a Leadership PAC. (On FEC form 1 this is box (f) under section 5) For more context on this, the FEC instructions for filling out Form 1 contains a bit more information on the different types of 527s: https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/fecfrm1i.pdf https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/fecfrm1i... They also have this table explaining the contribution limits that apply to each, our form of 527 is called out in a footnote to the table: https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate-taking-receipts/contribution-limits/ https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate... > I guess my question is, if you're raising money not-for-a-campaign but on issues, how are you then going to use that money for explicit advocacy for a candidate's election, where limits actually kick in. https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-receipts-pac/contributions-to-super-pacs-and-hybrid-pacs/ https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-re...

pvg 6y ago

A 527 that advertises 'vote them out' has to comply with state and federal campaign finance regulations. A 527 that doesn't explicitly do that doesn't. I'd like to get someone who knows more I want to say this as politely as I can but... shouldn't you have that sorted out before taking money from people?

r3trohack3r 6y ago
> Shouldn't you have that sorted out before taking money from people? I believe I have, though haven't done a great job of sharing that context! I've gotten input on our structure from folks w/ experience and legal background saying this is sound, but very much welcome additional input. I understand that ignorance of the law doesn't retroactively exempt you from the law. The more eyes we have on our structure the better; I suspect we will come under quite a bit of scrutiny as we make progress and would like to have our house in order when that happens.
- pvg 6y ago
  I guess my question is, if you're raising money not-for-a-campaign but on issues, how are you then going to use that money for explicit advocacy for a candidate's election, where limits actually kick in. Isn't that the whole point of 'superpac' style 527s - that they don't do that and are thus not subject to those regulations? Can you talk a bit about this? 'Vote for this person' is precisely the type of ad these orgs don't make because their financing is regulated.
  - r3trohack3r 6y ago
    There are different forms of 527s. We are specifically a 527 that supports/opposes more than one Federal candidate, is not a segregated fund or party committee, is not a Lobbyist/Registrant PAC, and is not a Leadership PAC. (On FEC form 1 this is box (f) under section 5) Under this, the guidance I've been given is that we can publicly support and oppose candidates, make unlimited independent expenditures and we can raise funds in unlimited amounts. The primary restriction is that we can not use those funds to make contributions, whether direct, in-kind, or via coordinated communications, to federal candidates or committees. Our interpretation of that is we can run ads like these as long as we don't coordinate those ads directly with a campaign. The FEC has a support line for getting guidance on campaign finance law. I've taken the guidance we've been given and run it through them. The FEC indicated we were in the clear. That being said, I'll call back Monday morning when they are open and ask your specific question to make sure our green light isn't a result of how I worded my questions.
    - r3trohack3r 6y ago
      Wanted to follow up after calling the FEC. The way we’ve incorporated, directly advocating for/against one or more federal candidates isn’t just an option, it’s mandatory. In order for us to qualify as the type of 527 we have registered for we are legally required to campaign for/against candidates. We are able to raise money without limits and spend that on advocating for or against candidates. The limits kick in when we are donating to a campaign or coordinating with a campaign.
      - pvg 6y ago
        What type of 527 is that?
        r3trohack3r 6y ago
        > We are specifically a 527 that supports/opposes more than one Federal candidate, is not a segregated fund or party committee, is not a Lobbyist/Registrant PAC, and is not a Leadership PAC. (On FEC form 1 this is box (f) under section 5) For more context on this, the FEC instructions for filling out Form 1 contains a bit more information on the different types of 527s: https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/fecfrm1i.pdf https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/fecfrm1i... They also have this table explaining the contribution limits that apply to each, our form of 527 is called out in a footnote to the table: https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate-taking-receipts/contribution-limits/ https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate... > I guess my question is, if you're raising money not-for-a-campaign but on issues, how are you then going to use that money for explicit advocacy for a candidate's election, where limits actually kick in. https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-receipts-pac/contributions-to-super-pacs-and-hybrid-pacs/ https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-re...