Washington Examiner: Feds to make a ruling over politicking on the Web
Wednesday, September 14, 2016September 14, 2016
By: Washington Examiner
The request for an advisory opinion, filed on behalf of Citizen Super PAC, asks the FEC whether it would be permissible to email supporters of a candidate’s campaign, or whether that would cross a line prohibiting coordination with candidates.
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Citizen Super PAC is charting new territory in the digital frontier. The organization allows users to set up pages on its website to raise funds for candidates that users support, in what it calls an effort to “democratize” political spending and “increase participation in the political marketplace.”
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Gober said the activity wasn’t an exact match with what Citizen Super PAC is attempting to accomplish, but that the Clinton supporters should be watching. “The rules governing ‘coordination’ do not place a blanket prohibition on all forms of communication between a candidate and a super PAC, and we are certainly seeking more clarification as to where to draw the lines of distinction.
“And while this advisory opinion could have a tangential impact on super PACs that are already using the ‘publicly available information’ exception to their strategic benefit … Citizen Super PAC’s kickstarter-style fundraising and proposed communications with federal candidates extend beyond what any other PACs are engaging in at this moment in time,” he added.
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