Democrats Are Using an Online Campaign Donation Tool That Raises Ethical Concerns

Every election cycle seems to reveal ethics issues when it comes to fundraising efforts by local, state and national political candidates. Right now, we are seeing something new and potentially significant, which is the rise of anonymous online donations.One big driver is the online donation tool for Democrats called ActBlue.According to ActBlue's own website, a majority of Democratic Senate and House campaigns, along with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Governors Association, over one-third of statewide campaigns, and progressive advocacy organizations around the country use ActBlue for fundraising. More than $3 billion has been funneled through ActBlue for Democratic campaigns and leftist causes over the past 14 years.The mysterious part is ActBlue says it offers "donors a way to give fully disclosed donations to the candidates and causes they choose," but the website allows credit card donations that are not verified, so anyone from any country in the world can give as many small donations to a candidate or group with no paper trail. For instance, a group in Russia or China could give a thousand separate $100 donations in bulk gift card donations through ActBlue and all that is required is the credit card number and expiration date. Campaigns wouldn't know who gave the money.  Continue reading...