{"id":118795,"date":"2016-01-21T18:32:27","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T01:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=118795"},"modified":"2016-01-21T18:32:27","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T01:32:27","slug":"what-is-political-dark-money-and-is-it-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/01\/what-is-political-dark-money-and-is-it-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"What is political ‘dark money’ \u2014 and is it bad?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now, you’ve probably heard the phrase “dark money.” Activists use it. Politicians use it. And journalists use it, including here at the Center for Public Integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Money\"<\/a>

Pictures of Money \/ Creative Commons<\/p>

Cutline goes here. (photo cc info<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

For some people, it’s just another piece of confusing campaign finance jargon. For others, it’s a term of art, with a precise definition.<\/p>\n

So here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about dark money in politics.<\/p>\n

What makes political money dark money?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sources behind most of the money raised by politicians and political groups are publicly disclosed. Candidates, parties and political action committees \u2014 including the super PACs that are allowed to accept unlimited amounts of money \u2014 all report the names of their donors to the Federal Election Commission<\/a> on a regular basis. Or, to be technical, they regularly disclose the names of all their donors who each give more than $200. But when the source of political money isn’t known, that’s dark money.<\/p>\n

What does political dark money look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The two most common vehicles for dark money in politics are politically active nonprofits and corporate entities such as limited liability companies. Certain politically active nonprofits \u2014 notably those formed under sections 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) of the tax code \u2014 are generally not required to publicly disclose their donors. Meanwhile, when limited liability companies are formed in certain states, such as Delaware and Wyoming, they are essentially black boxes<\/a>; the company\u2019s name is basically the only thing known about them. These LLCs can be used to make political expenditures themselves or to donate to super PACs.<\/p>\n