FEC Approves Bitcoin Donations to Political Committees

The Federal Election Commission on Thursday gave a green light to donating Bitcoins to political committees, one of the first rulings by a government agency on how to treat the virtual currency.

In a 6-to-0 vote, the panel said that a PAC can accept Bitcoin donations, as well as purchase them, but it must sell its Bitcoins and convert them into U.S. dollars before they are deposited into an official campaign account.  The commission did not approve the use of Bitcoin to acquire goods and services.

After the vote, however, individual commissioners offered sharply divergent views on whether their decision limits Bitcoin donations to small amounts, creating more uncertainty about how much of the Internet currency that political committees can accept.

The FEC had deadlocked on a similar question in the fall, with the three Democratic appointees saying they wanted the agency to take more time to study the issue and develop a formal policy to govern the use of Bitcoins in campaigns.  At the time, some commissioners expressed concern that the virtual currency could be used to mask the identity of donors.

On Thursday, the panel’s vote was swift.  The decision came in the form of guidance to "Make Your Laws PAC", not an official rule or regulation.  But it opens the door to the use of Bitcoins by any federal political committee.

In its advisory opinion request, the "Make Your Laws PAC" said it is seeking to accept Bitcoin donations in increments up to $100.

That low sum assuaged the concerns of several commissioners about the risks of the virtual currency, said Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic appointee.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Federal Election Commission without Commissioners

The Federal Election Commissioners' terms are up. But there's no one to replace them.

Federal Election Commissioner Caroline Hunters term ended on April 30. So as of now, all the members of the agency that enforces the nation's campaign laws and is supposed to oversee the flood of money candidates and their allies spend, are working on borrowed time. President Obama has not nominated anyone to succeed them. So the current commissioners are in their expired seats.

The agency's commission structure is three Democrats and three Republicans. The president names the Democrats and the Senate leader of the opposite party names the Republicans, who are confirmed by the Senate. They serve a single six year term, which means it is often deadlocked along party lines. The FEC's inability to do its job has emboldened some groups to test legal boundaries, such as the Citizen United v. FEC case. The three Democrats wanted to consider tightening disclosure requirements and the Republicans insisted on reviewing only those rules that conflicted with the Supreme Court's ruling. So nothing happened and in 2012 over $1 billion was spent by independent groups.

In more than four years in office, President Obama has made just one FEC nomination, labor lawyer John Sullivan, only to withdraw his name after Senate opposition. So one by one, commissioners timed out but stayed in their jobs. FEC rules say anyone who earns $155,500 a year can stay in their seats until the Senate confirms their replacements. This decreased the urgency of finding new commissioners while increasing the ineffectiveness of the agency.

Today, the FEC does not have its full complement of six commissioners. Democrat Cynthia Bauerly, who stayed on after her term expired in 2012, resigned on February 1. That would appear to leave the Republicans with a 3-2 advantage. But the law requires four votes to take action.

The percentage of split votes has risen from 1 percent in 2007 to 18.5 percent in 2012. So why should you pay all that money to campaign finance lawyers to make sure you are doing the right thing when there is no penalty if you are not?

To resolve this problem we need the rules changed so the commissioners are independent and professionals, not appointees.

What do you think the Commission structure should be?










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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The New Rules for Political Donations

Donating to political causes this presidential election season is different.

That's because recent court rulings and Federal Election Commission decisions have transformed federal election law, paving the way for new super political-action committees, or super PACs, and re-energized 501(c) organizations to vie for donor dollars with fewer constraints than candidates and political parties. The emergence of these groups has expanded the menu of ways you can support candidates. The choices you make will affect not only how your money is used, but also what sort of disclosure of your contributions you can expect.

Use the above link to read this article in The Wall Street Journal by Rachel Louse Ensign.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Urge President Obama to Fill Vacancy on FEC with an Independent

During last night's conference call with Jacqueline Salit, New York, NY, the President of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party, Inc. (CUIP), a longtime journalist, political strategist and “on the ground” organizer and the Executive Editor of The NEO-INDEPENDENT magazine, we were asked to join this effort. Here is a letter Jackie and her counsel wrote to the President about the current openings on the FEC and why they should be filled by independents.


President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

We write on behalf of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party/IndependentVoting.org and our local affiliates in 37 states. We believe that the time has come to appoint one or more independents to the Federal Election Commission and hope you will do so.

As you know, the American electorate has changed dramatically since the FEC was created in 1975, part of an effort to reform our country’s political process. In many respects, your election as President was a statement by the American people that we must find ways to create a new political culture. That change is happening “on the ground” in significant ways. For example, 39% of Americans now self-identify as independents, a startling fact in a system that is so totally anchored to two major parties. And, the institutions which regulate the electoral process must more accurately reflect the electorate. It is no longer the case that bi-partisanship can be equated with non-partisanship.

The Federal Election Campaign Act states that no more than three Commissioners may belong to the same political party. Since 1975, every president has adhered to this statute by ensuring that the FEC was comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans. This arrangement has rendered the FEC largely dysfunctional and has left millions of Americans without a voice in administering our democracy. It is not a healthy situation for those who choose to be Democrats and Republicans to have representation on the FEC while the 39% of the country who choose to be independent do not.

Mr. President, our appeal is not just an abstract plea for fairness. As currently constructed, the bi-partisan bias of the FEC has produced decisions which have impeded the development of democratic initiatives which emanate from independent voters and the third party or third force sector. At a time when many are seeking new and innovative forms of political expression and identity, the FEC has taken positions that reinforce the political status quo, whether by setting restrictive contribution limits for non-party actors, failing to police the conduct of the nationally televised presidential debates, or barring unorthodox independent coalitions from qualifying for public financing.

Your appointment of an independent or member of a third party to one or two of the remaining two FEC vacancies would be an important step in remedying this unfortunate situation. Independents from diverse segments of our movement will come together to prepare a list of candidates for your consideration if you give us the signal that you will entertain this request.
You have reached across party lines in making appointments to your cabinet. Our government is the better for it. We value and respect that. And we urge you to apply the same high standard when it comes to choosing the stewards of our country’s most valued asset: our democracy.

Sincerely yours,


Jacqueline Salit, President
IndependentVoting.org

Harry Kresky, Counsel
IndependentVoting.org

cc: Hon. John McCain, Hon. Russell Feingold


Add your voice to call for the appointment of an independent to the Federal Election Commission. Use these links to contact the White House and your Senators.

Contact the White House

Contact Your Senators

Michael H. Drucker
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FEC heads toward shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) just announced that the Senate will not clear four new appointees for the Federal Election Commission, meaning the panel that acts as a watchdog on political campaigns cannot function during the critical election-year period.

Reid is blaming the White House for refusing to withdraw to allow a majority vote on the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky for a seat on the commission. Republicans want von Spakovsky approved as part of a slate of four FEC nominees or they will refuse to consider any of the nominees.

Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) placed holds on von Spakovsky's nomination, meaning Republicans needed 60 votes to approve his nomination over Democratic objections.

Now, with the Senate moving toward adjournment until mid-January, Reid signalled that Democrats will not move any FEC nominations if they include von Spakovsky, meaning the commission will only have two of its required six members. Reid said he offered the GOP a straight majority vote on all the FEC nominees, including von Spakovsky, but the White House refused to accept that offer.

Mr. Reid has decided that he will have one person gavel the senate in session over the Christmas Holidays or Winter Break. No one will be there except the one person doing the gaveling. Webb from VA has been elected to do it the most because he lives close by. This is done so that Bush can't use the time for recess appointments because the Senate isnt in recess.

A voter comment: "The FEC is in its lingering existence into the '08 elections and not able to have as much oversight as they normally would. The Republicans win the election and the Dems say it was all a massive Bush conspiracy to eliminate the FEC in time to steal another election."

What do you think?

Michael H. Drucker
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