Buying Your Vote
Dark Money and Big Data
A series of court rulings led to the creation of super PACs and an influx of “dark money” into politics, fundamentally changing how elections work. ProPublica is following the money and exploring campaign issues you won't read about elsewhere.
Paul Ryan Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the House Republican
He's the new speaker of the House. Here's a look at Rep. Paul Ryan's positions and Congressional career.
Could Scott Walker's Legal Victory Expand PAC Superpowers?
Proponents of tighter reins on political money worry that a Wisconsin ruling about the governor's recall campaign could carry seeds of another 'Citizens United.'
New IRS Rules on Dark Money Likely Won't Be Ready Before 2016 Election
The IRS faces a number of hurdles before its new regulations for social welfare nonprofits can be finalized, including potential opposition from Congress.
Secret Donors Behind Some Super PACs Funneling Millions into Midterms
Super PACs are required to identify their contributors, but some of them are funded entirely or mostly by social welfare nonprofits that don't have to do so. That leaves voters in the dark about where money is really coming from.
A Kansas Group's Push to Oust Judges Reveals a Gap in Campaign Finance Rules
Judicial retention elections in Kansas have typically been apolitical and uncontested — until Kansans for Justice entered the fray earlier this month. Now state election overseers are grappling with a new kind of dark money.
In Wisconsin, Dark Money Got a Mining Company What It Wanted
An accidentally released court filing reveals how one company secretly gave money to a nonprofit that helped get favorable mining legislation passed.
Cuomo Has Raised Millions Through Loophole He Pledged to Close
The governor has called for closing a gap in the state’s campaign finance laws, but he’s taken far more through the loophole than his predecessors, much of it from real estate developers.
IRS Delays New Rules for Dark Money Groups
The agency has pushed back indefinitely a hearing on new regulations for social welfare nonprofits that spend money on politics.
Senate to Take Up Longshot Amendment to Regulate Campaign Finance
The Senate could soon consider a constitutional amendment that would give Congress and states the ability to limit money in politics, possibly reversing the effect of recent Supreme Court rulings. But the amendment doesn’t appear to have the votes to pass.
Dark Money Group Sues IRS Over Targeting, Disclosure
Freedom Path was launched by backers of Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and ran ads supporting Hatch and other Republicans in 2012. It said it suffered damages because the IRS flagged its application for extra scrutiny and disclosed its pending application to ProPublica.
Liberal Outside Money Groups Spend Big in North Carolina
Liberal spending via dark money groups and super PACs was relatively modest in 2012. But their spending has taken off this year in at least one state.
What Happens When a Dark Money Group Blows Off IRS Rules? Nothing.
The Government Integrity Fund spent most of its money on election ads, despite IRS rules prohibiting a social welfare nonprofit from doing so.
What Newly Released Docs Tell Us About the IRS and How It Handles Dark Money Groups
Here are five takeaways ProPublica found from the documents released Wednesday by a House committee.
Who Controls the Kochs’ Political Network? ASMI, SLAH and TOHE
Obscure limited liability companies have ultimate say over the Koch network’s nonprofits, which spend hundreds of millions of dollars to advance conservative causes.
How Dark Money Flows Through the Koch Network
An obscure Arizona nonprofit disbursed millions in cash from anonymous donors. Some was spent on the 2012 elections.
The Dark Money Man: How Sean Noble Moved the Kochs’ Cash into Politics and Made Millions
Sean Noble was a former congressional aide just starting as a political consultant when he was recruited to help run the Kochtopus — Charles and David Koch’s multi-layered political network.
A Reading Guide on the Billionaire Koch Brothers
A Reading Guide on the Billionaire Koch Brothers
The IRS Moves to Limit Dark Money – But Enforcement Still a Question
The proposed regulations could dramatically limit how nonprofits spend money. But the proposals aren’t a done deal, and it’s not clear whether groups would comply.
New Tax Return Shows Karl Rove’s Group Spent Even More On Politics Than It Said
The $26.4 million grant from Rove’s dark money giant, Crossroads GPS, to Americans for Tax Reform was supposed to be spent on social welfare and education. Instead, records show, at least $11.2 million of that grant money went to politics.
