San Diego, Orange County, Riverside & San Bernardino California Election Lawyer Discusses Campaign Election Finance Laws

As this 2008 Presidential Election generates more interest than any election before it, and people from cities such as El Cajon, Carlsbad and La Jolla in San Diego to cities such as Newport Beach, Anaheim, Irvine and Yorba Linda in Orange County, from Santa Barbara to Ventura to Oxnard and Camarillo to Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Riverside, San Bernardino, Fontana and Fullerton to Palm Springs, Palm Desert and La Quinta want to know more about what they can contribute, both individuals and candidates have questions about campaign election finance laws and are looking for a California campaign election finance attorney who can advise them. 

Many people don't realize that in federal elections, the biggest source of campaign contributions comes from individuals. The second biggest source is political action committees (PACs).

Soft money is funds spent by organizations that do not expressly advocate support for or against a certain candidate and is money not contributed directly to an individual or a political party.

Bundling is the effort of one donor gathering donations from numerous individual donors and presenting that gathered amount to a campaign.

It is this last type of money, money raise through bundling that has in recent years been the subject of much abuse. Campaigns actively seek out bundlers but when they are accused of wrong doing, they can reflect badly on a campaign.

But when soft money became more difficult to run through corporations and other organizations, bundling became more important.

Political parties may contribute funds directly to political candidates and can make unlimited expenditures to support or oppose federal election candidates.

Contributions by individuals to federal PACs are limited to $5,000. Federal multicandidate PACs can give $5,000 to an individual candidate, and $15,000 to a national party committee. Federal non-multicandidate PACs can give$2,300 to an individual candidate, and $28,500 to a national party committee.

A multicandidate PAC is a political committee with more than 50 contributors which has been registered for at least 6 months and, with the exception of state party committees, has made contributions to 5 or more candidates for federal office.

Different rules apply to state and local elections. An individual intending to campaign for any elected office needs to know election finance rules and should consult with a political campaign finance attorney at an early stage in their campaign decisions and certainly at the first sign of trouble.

News Note - Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has set a new campaign contribution record with his announcement that his campaign fundraising efforts brought in $150 million in the month of September 2008. This gives Barack Obama a huge advantage which is reportedly allowing him to outspend John McCain by as much as 4 to 1 in some swing states. The campaign added 632,000 new donors for a total of 3.1 million donors to date. The average donor contribution to the campaign is $86.

If you have an election legal matter of any kind, we have the knowledge and resources to be your San Diego Election Lawyers, and Orange County Election Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with election lawyers who can represent you from Palm Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Anaheim, Irvine, La Jolla, El Cajon, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Temecula, Palm Desert, Yorba Linda, Carlsbad, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Murrieta, to Indian Wells and La Quinta.

If you have an election legal matter of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.