Independent Expenditure

An independent expenditure is money spent in a political campaign, which is subject to federal regulation.

The federal government defines an "independent expenditure" subject to regulation as follows:^[1]

An independent expenditure for communications "expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or their agents, or a political party or its agents." 11 CFR 100.16(a).

Except for a certain type of small, informal corporation, corporations may not engage in express advocacy under the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Requirements of Independent Expenditures[edit]

Independent expenditures must include a disclaimer in "a clear and conspicuous notice in the printed material or during the broadcast," and this disclaimer must:^[2]

• State that the communication is not authorized by any candidate or his committee; and

• Identify the name and street address, telephone number or World Wide Web address of the person who financed the communication.

An example of such disclaimer is: "Paid for by the XYZ PAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contact us at: XYZ PAC, 203 First Street SE, Washington, DC 20001"

The amount spent on an independent expenditure must be reported to the Federal Election Commission.

Independent expenditures may also be taxable under section 527(f) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Distributing a candidate's materials[edit]

With a few exceptions, an independent expenditure does not include "any expenditure to distribute or republish campaign material (print or broadcast) produce or prepared by a candidate's campaign. That would be an in-kind contribution.

References[edit]

1. ↑ https://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/indexp.shtml
2. ↑ 11 CFR 109.11, 110.11(a)(2) and (b)(3)