In the United States,a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates,ballot initiatives,or legislation. The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level,an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election,and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC),according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level,an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government,whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act,the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information,to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions,and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."
Melquíades Rafael Ruiz Martínez is a Cuban-American lobbyist and former politician who served as a United States Senator from Florida from 2005 to 2009 and as general chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19,2007. Previously,Martínez served as the 12th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush. Martínez is a Cuban-American and Roman Catholic. He announced he was resigning as general chairman of the Republican National Committee on October 19,2007.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002,commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA,is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The law became effective on 6 November 2002,and the new legal limits became effective on January 1,2003.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements,adopting voluntary voting system guidelines,and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form.
The Hatch Act of 1939,An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities,is a United States federal law. Its main provision prohibits civil-service employees in the executive branch of the federal government,except the president and vice president,from engaging in some forms of political activity. It became law on August 2,1939. The law was named for Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico. It was most recently amended in 2012.
Joyce Hens Green is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Green was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on March 6,1979,to a seat vacated by Howard F. Corcoran. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 10,1979,and received commission on May 11,1979. She assumed senior status on July 1,1995.
The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent quasi-judicial agency established in 1979 to protect federal merit systems against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices and to ensure adequate protection for federal employees against abuses by agency management.
Ellen L. Weintraub is an American attorney who serves as a Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission.
Mary Elizabeth Dawson,is the former Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada. She was appointed under the Parliament of Canada Act on July 9,2007 as the Conflict of Interest Act came into force until her term of office came to an end on January 8,2018.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,558 U.S. 310 (2010),is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding campaign finance laws and free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations,including nonprofit corporations,labor unions,and other associations.
Matthew Spencer Petersen is an American attorney who served as a member of the United States Federal Election Commission. In 2017,he was nominated by President Donald Trump to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Petersen withdrew his nomination following a confrontational exchange with Senator John Kennedy during his confirmation hearing. On August 26,2019,Petersen announced his resignation from the FEC,effective August 31. In September 2019,Petersen joined the law firm Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky as a partner where he practices political law.
Ann Miller Ravel is an American attorney who was a Democratic Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC),an independent regulatory agency created by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance law.
Jonathan Zucker is a political technology entrepreneur and campaign finance attorney best known as the founder of Democracy Engine,the first COO and second CEO of ActBlue and the founder of It Starts Today.
Lee E. Goodman was a member and former chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC),an independent regulatory agency created by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance law.
James Edwin "Trey" Trainor III is an American Republican lawyer and government official. He became a member of the Federal Election Commission after President Donald Trump nominated him and the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed him. He served as chair of the commission in 2020.
The 2020 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of primary elections,caucuses and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States at the 2020 Green National Convention. The primaries,were held in numerous U.S. states on various dates from early spring into early summer of 2020,and featured elections publicly funded,concurrent with the Democratic Party and Republican Party primaries,and elections privately funded by the Green Party,held non-concurrently with the major party primaries.
Alexandra (Ali) Chalupa is an American lawyer who was co-chair of the Democratic National Committee's (DNC's) Ethnic Council. She is also the founder of the political consulting firm Chalupa &Associates,LLC and a pro-Ukrainian activist.
Allen Joseph Dickerson is an American attorney who has been a Republican member of the Federal Election Commission since December 17,2020.
Shana M. Broussard is an American attorney who served as the chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for 2021. She has been a Democratic member of the FEC since December 15,2020.
