LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MAINE RELEASES REPORT ON MAINE CANDIDATE PACS

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MAINE RELEASES REPORT ON MAINE CANDIDATE PACS

 Today at 12:31pm

Augusta -- The League of Women Voters of Maine (LWVME) today released its long-awaited study report, “Candidate PACs: Follow the Money,” which finds that the vast majority of contributions to candidate Political Action Committees (PACs) in Maine come from businesses and corporations.

The study report, which examined thousands of donations to Maine candidate PACs from 2005-2006 (the last gubernatorial election cycle), found that corporations and businesses were by far the largest contributors to candidate PACs during that period, outstripping individuals, unions and professional associations. Not surprisingly, the majority of contributions received by candidate PACs came from large donors.

In the works for two years, the report comes on the heels of the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC, which overturned the federal ban on independent expenditures by corporations and unions, while upholding disclosure requirements. The Court’s decision itself will have little effect in Maine, since Maine has no limits on corporate participation in PACs or in making independent expenditures.

Barbara McDade, president of the League of Women Voters of Maine noted that “although important disclosure requirements were upheld that keep the process transparent, the League’s study makes clear that without limits, business and corporate interests are able to thoroughly dominate candidate PACs affecting state office.”

The paper is the fourth in a series of reports from the League’s "Money in Politics: PACs in Maine” study begun in 2007. The series is aimed at helping Maine citizens understand the role of PACs in financing candidate elections. This study focuses on how PACs are funded, how they influence candidate elections, and what changes, if any, should be proposed to limit the influence of private money on elected officials. PACs involved in ballot initiatives are not included as they present very different issues and deserve their own study.

The full report can be read at LWVME’s website, at [ http://www.lwvme.org/pac_study.html ]http://www.lwvme.org/pac_study.html.