The individual contribution limit to a campaign is $3300...right?

Politics & Elections
1

I made two $500 donations and then went all in on a bulk $2300 donation to max out so I could disengage a little from the election with a clear conscience. After the first $500 donation, the texts and emails from the Harris campaign upped their ask from $20-$50 to “can you chip in another $500?”. After the $2300 donation they started asking if I could “chip in another $2300”.

These pleas are coming directly from the Harris/Walz campaign (not PACs) which is obviously aware of my contribution history through ActBlue. Even if whatever algorithm is generating these emails isn’t tracking my previous contributions, it must be programed to know that an individual can’t legally make two $2300 donations, right?

I had no expectations that the texts and emails would stop, but I thought they would be from entities like the DNC, DCCC, DSCC, and other PACs; not a campaign that has already milked the legal limit from me.

ETA: What would happen if I actually clicked the button to donate another $2300? Would the ActBlue website do anything to keep me from breaking the law?

2

My guess is that it would probably allow you to make a second $2,300 donation since it’s your responsibility to ensure you aren’t breaking the law, not ActBlue’s. I could be wrong.

3

I could imagine that in the heat of a hectic campaign, they might have set up something automatic that suggested you “chip in another $X” after you donate $X, but didn’t add all the functionality to figure out your donation history and compare that with the limit. Tracking down your donation history sounds like a programming hassle – and what about the problem of response time for that history? Does it become their liability if they miss one of your donations because some servers were behind in their syncing?

4

So my latest email is from Gwen Walz and the buttons at the bottom give me six options:

$2300 >>
$2875>>
$3450>>
$4025>>
$4600>>
Other>>

WTF???

5

$2300 is 4 x $575. The next entries are each increments of $575. All very logical.

Except that I have no idea where the original $575 came from.

6

It may be logical but three of them (in and of themselves) are also illegal.

7

Hmmm… 25% more, 50% more, 75% more…

Elite programming without further checking or consideration.

8

I said it was logical. Legal is a whole 'nother category.

I suspect there are squadrons of people at the other end searching for over-the-limit contributions and working to refund them. I also suspect the emails come from a totally separate group. I thirdly suspect that the two groups don’t talk to each other, as that is the way of large organizations.

ActBlue lets me write in a contribution of $5000, although I didn’t take it any further. Maybe it would have flagged the amount. Or maybe it would have assumed that the extra $2700 was a donation to ActBlue, since it routinely adds a 10% help-us-meet-expenses fee to contributions.

9

They definitely “talk” to each other. They thanked me for the $500 donations and asked me to match them. Same for the $2300 donation. That’s why the first button is for $2300. The ActBlue tip is a separate add on like you would see on a restaurant bill.

10

Are your donations going to the Harris/Walz presidential campaign committee, or to their primary SuperPac? You can donate to the SuperPac in unlimited amounts.

Also, you’re allowed to donate $3,300 to both the candidates’ primary and general election campaigns. It’s possible all or some of your previous donations were applied to the primary campaign (which Harris technically participated in as the VP candidate).

11

All of my donations have been to the Harris Victory Fund. While confirming that, I found the answer to my questions in the fine print on ActBlue.

The first $3,300/$5,000 from a person/multicandidate committee (“PAC”) will be allocated to Harris for President for the general election. The next $41,300/$15,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to the DNC. The next $510,000/$255,000 from a person/PAC will be split equally among the Democratic state parties from these states: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, and WY. Any additional funds will be allocated to the DNC, subject to applicable contribution limits. A contributor may designate their contribution for a particular participant by contacting contact@kamalaharris.com.

So if I made another $2300 donation to the Harris Victory Fund, it would go to the DNC.