Daily Kos: ActBlue, public financing, and the FEC

by kos

Mon Dec 10, 2007 at 11:21:30 AM PST

The Edwards campaign asked the FEC whether contributions donated via ActBlue could be counted for matching grant purposes. Adam Bonin, who represents this site on regulatory matters, explained the situation a few weeks ago:

So here's the problem -- as you know by now, not everything is matchable. The main category is "contributions over $250", but also listed in the regulations regarding the list of sources for funds that can be matched is the explicit statement that for a check to be matchable, it must be "written on a personal, escrow or trust account representing or containing the contributor's personal funds." And, what's worse, listed among those sources of funds which are explicitly not-matchable are

Contributions in the form of a check drawn on the account of a committee, corporation, union or government contractor even though the funds represent personal funds earmarked by a contributing individual to a Presidential candidate;

And ActBlue is, indeed, a committee that's writing checks which represent personal funds earmarked by a contributing individual to a Presidential candidate.

Now, common sense would dictate that this law was enacted decades ago to prevent the matching of illegal funds.