That’s because 2012 is the first presidential campaign waged in the era of “super PACs,” groups unleashed by court rulings that struck down limits on contributions to outside groups as long as they do not directly coordinate their expenditures with candidates.
And unlike the campaigns, which were required to submit their latest quarterly contribution and expenditure reports by midnight last Saturday, the first time most super PACs will have to disclose their full numbers is Jan. 31, more than three months from now.
“With the candidate filings, we are only seeing a fraction of the total money raised for the presidential race,” said Ellen S. Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, a group that advocates more transparency in campaign spending. “The money being raised by super PACs — which very much are working for individual candidates — is completely secret at the moment and those that have to report won’t do so until the end of January of next year.”
Campaign Finance Filings Present an Incomplete Picture
via nytimes.com
