Most people have heard tales of the dead casting ballots in Chicago or Philadelphia, but there’s another form of posthumous political participation that has grown into a nationwide trend: donating money from beyond the grave.
A study by the Center for Public Integrity has found that there are at least 100 of the dearly departed still giving funds to political parties and to candidates for Congress and the presidency. Members of this underground political movement have contributed more than $1.3 million to federal candidates and political parties in the past 14 years. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., have been among their beneficiaries, the study found.
As spooky—or as fishy—as that might sound, it’s done through a perfectly legal practice that doesn’t require seances or Ouija boards. People are setting aside money for future contribution via their wills.
The Center study found that in the 2000 election cycle, such contributors donated $245,000 overall. Two years later, a groundswell of activity in the deceased demographic raised that total to nearly $680,000.
Scores of these dead donors appear in public records with their employment listed as “deceased” on contribution reports; in other cases, the politicians reported receiving money from the person’s estate.
FEC spokesman George Smaragdis said people can set up “testamentary bequests” to support political parties and specific candidates after they have passed away. “If that is their wish while they are alive, money can be set aside for federal political action committees,” Smaragdis said, noting that because of new laws, estates, like living individuals, recently have been limited to donations of $5,000 to a PAC per calendar year. Federal law bans donations by non-citizens, foreign governments and corporations. But contributions are welcome from all U.S. citizens … dead or alive.
No Comment.
Gives a whole new meaning to “Grass roots support!”
If a lifelong “moderate” Republican thought it would be a good idea to leave a yearly legacy to his party at his death in the 1980’s, surely he would have reason to haunt his beneficiaries for what they have made of it today! It would be good to consider that time means change and politics will always represent the values of whoever gains control. You never know. Who knew?
I dunno…my mother died in 2000, and I took over her phone number…..and I am STILL getting calls from the Republican Party asking for her support, and she’s STILL on the voter roles in our county. Given that this county doesn’t ask for much in the way of ID (just verify your address with the nice poll person hired for a day) seems to me it would be pretty darn EASY for dead people to vote.
As for “donations’ after the death……I wonder if anyone is going to look into the estates, to see if the money originated from said estate. Sounds like money laundering to me……and getting around some of the contribution laws.
Oh wait…but corruption is “business as usual” in today’s America. I forgot.