Campaign spending is confusing, but there are basic rules to help you understand information about money in elections. They can help you determine what is corruption and what is just regular politics.
Articles on Campaign finance
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It’s not lack of ambition that keeps young women out of politics.
A huge amount of money flows into campaigns in the United States. For 20 years, the Supreme Court has been loosening rules for who can contribute and how much. It just loosened the rules again.
Campaign contributions among House members show how parties build influence, protect vulnerable members and respond to election pressures.
With Max Chandler-Mather at the helm, the Green Institute is being relaunched. All the major parties have these thinktanks, but their democratic benefit isn’t clear.
A gobsmacking amount of money is spent on federal elections in the US. The credit or blame for that reaches back to a landmark, 50-year-old Supreme Court decision.
The Republican and Democratic parties are united in protecting their chokehold on American politics, despite the view by America’s founders that parties had no legitimate place in the republic.
The results of last year’s election show how pointless it is to continue raising spending limits.
A healthy democracy has free and fair elections, robust civil liberties, multiparty competition and minimal corruption. Does Texas qualify?
The government has unveiled details of its major overhaul of political donations rules.
Americans are being targeted with an unprecedented number of political attack ads this election season, and research shows that these ads can leave voters feeling exhausted, angry and stressed.
Federal investigations into irregular election spending can uncover wild stories. Politicians have used campaign money to pay rent, fund family vacations, book hotel rooms for mistresses − and worse.
Donors often try to conceal their involvement in politics, and campaigns try to hide what they spend their money on.
If campaign ethics are no longer important to politicians or voters, the U.S. and Canada will face more contested elections, greater political division and further erosion of trust in politicians.
America’s campaign finance laws are very complicated and politicians have always been very good at getting around them.
Trump-aligned political action committees have paid lawyers for the former president tens of millions of dollars. Are there any limits on how much, or on what, they can spend?
As the country prepares to go to the polls on February 14, will the low representation of women in parliament improve? Given the systemic barriers in place, probably not.
In Iowa, the Ron DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down seemed intent on mocking the dividing line federal regulators set between campaigns and the PACs that support them.
There are different kinds of PACs, but it is not clear if Trump’s use of them to pay his large legal fees violates election or campaign finance laws.
Big donors are already pouring millions into New Zealand’s 2023 election. But new proposals could make it harder for large donations to translate into political influence in future.
Top contributors
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Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation, Columbia University
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Associate Professor in Politics, Murdoch University
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Emeritus Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University
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Professor of Political Science, Clark University; Institute for Humane Studies
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Assistant Professor of Law, Quinnipiac University
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Professor of Law, Stetson University
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Professor of Law, Loyola University Chicago
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Professor of Economics, Colgate University
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Professor of Taxation, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
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Research Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
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Lecturer in Politics, University of Bristol
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Sarah Joseph is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Human Rights Law, Griffith University
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Doctoral Candidate, Australian National University
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Associate Professor of Teacher Education, Michigan State University