PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY MATCHING FUNDS information for DUMMIES

[FrenchieCat]

MATCHING FUNDS AND THEIR LIMITS:
Partial public funding is available to Presidential primary candidates in the form of federal matching payments. Candidates seeking their party’s nomination to the Presidency can qualify to receive matching funds by raising at least $5,000 in each of 20 states. Only contributions from individuals are matchable, and while an individual may contribute up to $2,000 to a candidate (a change included in the BCRA of 2002 increasing the limit from $1,000), only $250 of an individual’s contribution can be applied toward the $5,000 threshold in each state, and only $250 of an individual’s contribution is ever matchable.

......the candidate may submit evidence of contributions from individuals for matching. The Commission’s audit staff reviews these submissions to determine if the requests meet the standards for matchability. The maximum amount of matching funds a candidate may receive is limited to 50 percent of the base spending limit. In 2004, presidential primary candidates who accepted public funding had a maximum entitlement of $18,655,000.

The effective primary expenditure limit in 2004 was $44,772,000.(that included money raised and matching funds appropriated).

Primary election candidates must also agree to an overall spending limit and spending limits in each state.
http://www.fec.gov/press/bkgnd/fund.shtml

The presidential public funding system further constrains participating candidates by imposing limits on how much they can spend in individual states. These limits are calculated using the voting age population of the state, after a base level allotment. This means that the spending limits in a small state like New Hampshire, which has a key primary, remain unreasonably low. In 2004, for example, participating candidates could spend only $746,200 in New Hampshire, while the spending limit in Texas, not generally considered a key primary state, was $9,478,531
http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/problem.cfm

ELECTION SPENDING DURING THE 2004 PRIMARIES (Note, Matching funds were not accepted by either nominee)
President Bush and Sen. John Kerry raised $259 million and $241 million, respectively, during the primary season.<2> Had they remained in the public financing system, they would have been restricted to spending $45 million.
http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/problem.cfm


ELECTION 2008:
Most experts expect the major parties' nominees to be selected by the end of voting on Feb. 5, 2008, when upwards of 20 states will hold their primaries.
http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/problem.cfm


572 GROUPS AND THEIR LIMITS: 527 Groups include all Unions as well as Independent advocacy organizations such as Emily's list, Move-On.org, Sierra Club, America Coming Together, etc....
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Under federal election law, coordination between an election campaign and a 527 group is not allowed. The heavy spending of key 527 groups to attack presidential candidates brought complaints to the Federal Elections Commission of illegal coordination between the groups and rival political campaigns.

In 2006 and 2007 the FEC fined a number of organizations, including MoveOn and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, for violations arising from the 2004 campaign. The FEC's rationale was that these groups had specifically advocated the election or defeat of candidates, thus making them subject to federal regulation and its limits on contributions to the organizations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/527_group

there is no sign that the major 527 groups that tried to make up the fiscal difference between the parties in 2004 -- America Coming Together, the Media Fund, and so on -- are going to be around in 2008, meaning that there will be fewer, not more, outside groups able to defend the new Democratic contender from GOP attack during the months before the convention.
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=10&year=2007&base_name=trippi_20_mn_he_made

ACT BLUE CONTRIBUTIONS CONTROVERSY:
In a draft opinion (.pdf) that the Federal Election Commission is set to consider Friday, the FEC staff says that contributions to..... ActBlue aren't matchable under campaign finance law.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/12/10/145619/71

What you can do prior to Friday to add your voice in reference to the Act Blue Controversy (I suggest that all Edwards supporters in particular get to it, if they haven't yet.)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/13/94112/598/496/421553

CONCLUSION:
In taking public funds, the real downside is the spending caps. Spending in various states is severely restricted, which means that a state by state strategy would be greatly hampered. If there is a need for additional spending to be focused in a "purple swing" state, the caps imposed could severally limit that strategy.

In addition, the problem with public funding isn't during the primaries themselves, but immediately afterwards once the nominee is known and the primaries are completed. It is a fact that there is a lot of money spent in January and February while trying to win the nomination by each candidate. If a Candidate accepting matching funds has spent most of his primary money by the time a nominee is known, then he/she will not receive any infusion of cash beyond the capped amount until AFTER the Democratic convention which starts August 25.

This means no infusion of cash (donations beyond the caps are set aside for the General Election period starting in September of 2008) for a large part of February, and all of March, April, May, June, July, and August (the convention is from the 25-28 http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/ )

That's nearly 7 months.

If a nominee has not accepted matching funds, then that nominee is not subject to spending caps nationally or state by state and is free to raise as much money without restrictions.

Unfortunately, although Democrats are outraising Republicans this year, this phenomenon will not provide any funding advantages for a Democratic candidate who has accepted matching Public funds.

Also read.... http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=09&year=2007&base_name=edwards_and_public_funds_1