What is a Political Action Committee?

A Political Action Committee is a body, usually established by a corporation, union or interest group, which raises money from individuals and donates it to candidates within legal limits.

State the limit on what a qualifying multicandidate PAC may give a candidate.

It may give up to $5,000 per candidate per election, with the primary and the general election counted separately.

Which two court rulings created Super PACs?

Citizens United v FEC and the SpeechNow.org ruling, both decided in 2010, which together allowed unlimited fundraising for purely independent expenditure.

AQA A-Level Politics 7152

The Nature and Sources of the British Constitution

Topic overview Codified and Uncodified Constitutions The Rule of Law and Parliamentary Sovereignty Magna Carta and the Early Constitution The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 Individual and Collective Rights Constitutional Change since 1997 and Codification

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Political Parties in the USA

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Pressure Groups in the USA

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Pressure Groups Compared

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Civil Rights Compared

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Liberalism

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Pressure Groups in the USA

PACs and Super PACs

3 things to know
Paper 2

Overview

Recall questions on how groups fund elections, what a Political Action Committee is, the limit it faces and how a Super PAC differs.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

In what ways do pressure groups fund US elections?

Key term

How does a Super PAC differ from a PAC?

Key term

Why is the ban on coordination widely regarded as a fiction?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
In what ways do pressure groups fund US elections?
Model answer
They fund elections through donations from their political action committees, by bundling members' individual gifts, by independent spending through Super PACs and by undisclosed spending through tax-exempt organisations.
2
What is a Political Action Committee?
Model answer
A Political Action Committee is a body, usually established by a corporation, union or interest group, which raises money from individuals and donates it to candidates within legal limits.
3
State the limit on what a qualifying multicandidate PAC may give a candidate.
Model answer
It may give up to $5,000 per candidate per election, with the primary and the general election counted separately.
4
How does a Super PAC differ from a PAC?
Model answer
A Super PAC may raise and spend unlimited sums, but only on independent activity, and it may not donate to a candidate or coordinate with their campaign.
5
Which two court rulings created Super PACs?
Model answer
Citizens United v FEC and the SpeechNow.org ruling, both decided in 2010, which together allowed unlimited fundraising for purely independent expenditure.
6
Why is the ban on coordination widely regarded as a fiction?
Model answer
Super PACs are often run by a candidate's former aides and can act on information the campaign publishes openly, so the two operate in step without formally communicating.

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