Campaign Finance (CE.5d)

The main purpose of a Political Action Committee (PAC) is to--

• Develop a party platform for the candidate's party

• Raise money for candidates who support the same views

• Publicize a presidential candidate's ideas through the use of media

• See that money is distributed equally among presidential candidates

Campaign finance reform has led to legislation that--

• Promotes free advertising

• Allows unlimited funding

• Limits the number of candidates

• Limits individual contributions

Running for political office is--

• Moderate

• Expensive

• Cheap

• Easy

Which of the following best completes the graphic organizer? You must select all correct answers.

• Fewer people choose to vote in elections

• Political action committees are established

• Opportunities to run for political office are limited

• Candidates perform various fundraising activities

• Wealthy individuals have an advantage when running for office

The increasing influence of ________________________, organizations which will donate money to candidates who vote favorably on issue(s) they believe to be important, have led to calls to limit the amount of money that can be donated to political campaigns

• Special interest groups

• Media

• Third party

• Political parties

Rising costs of campaigns gives an advantage to the __________________ and ___________________ the opportunities to run for office.

• Middle class; increases

• Middle class; decreases

• Poor; decreases

• Wealthy; decreases

Select all the following that the US government has done to limit high campaign costs. (Select 2)

• Placed NO limits on the amount a person can donate

• Limits the amount that an individual can donate

• U.S. government has done nothing to help curb campaign costs

• Passed campaign finance reform to help lower campaign cost

Why do wealthy individuals often have an advantage when running for public office?

• Rising campaign costs have limited opportunities to run for office

• The government has set stricter requirements for political candidates

• They have a broader educational background

• Political Action Committees (PACs) will only contribute to wealthy candidates

Which of these best explains this opinion?

• Influence of lobbyists

• Expensive registration fees

• High campaign costs

• Number of elections