a database comprised of contact information for past, present, and future donors.

 A phrase taken from Federal Election Commission regulations used by candidates’ campaign committees to excuse their failure to provide the FEC with complete disclosure information concerning their contributors. For example, when only the name and address but not the employer or occupation of a contributor is given on a campaign finance form, the w [..]

 Also known as the McCain-Feingold law enacted in 2002 bans unlimited soft money contributions to the national political parties and prohibits federal officeholders from soliciting soft money. The law increased the limits on “hard money” contributions, which can be given directly to federal candidates and political parties. BCRA also barred special [..]

The 1976 Supreme Court case that challenged most of the provisions in the Federal Campaign Election Act, as amended in 1974. The Supreme Court upheld the law’s requirements that candidates, parties, PACs and groups engaging in express advocacy disclose their fund-raising and spending. The court also affirmed voluntary public financing and limits on [..]

The practice through which multiple contributions from a single industry, interest group, company or group of individuals are delivered to a candidate. Bundling is a legal practice that can occur one of two ways: 1) an individual or group, known as a conduit or bundler, collects and delivers the contributions in a “bundle” to a candidate (in some c [..]

 An upper limit on campaign expenditures. Sometimes also refers to the upper limit on what individuals, PACs, and political parties can contribute.

 Refers to the chronological documentation or paper trail, showing the receipt, custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of physical or electronic documents.

 The candidate trying to unseat the person in office, or incumbent.

A U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled in a 5-4 decision in January 2010 to allow corporations and unions to use their general treasuries to pay for political advertisements that expressly call for the election or defeat of a candidate — or independent expenditures. The decision also allowed nonprofit groups to use corporate or union funds to air ele [..]

A group of similar-minded organizations or individuals who have joined together to lobby for a specific cause. Because of their size, coalitions often wield more influence among elected officials than do individual organizations that lobby alone. Some coalitions, such as the Business Roundtable, do not reveal their membership, making the money spen [..]