Early estimates are projecting that the total amount of money spent on the 2024 federal election cycle will top $16 billion, making this the most expensive election in history.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who’s already sunk tens of millions of dollars into supporting former President Donald Trump’s campaign, is now offering up $1 million every day to a registered swing state voter who signs a petition for his super PAC.
But hold on, is that even legal? We asked Ellen Weintraub, vice chair of the Federal Election Commission, on KNX News’ daily political show Countdown 2024.
Listen here:
Weintraub wouldn’t weigh in on whether what Musk is doing is legal, but she did say there are a number of state laws against paying people to vote or register to vote. She also explained the rules governing super PACs, which can collect and spend unlimited sums – so long as they don’t give it directly to a candidate or political party.
“The Supreme Court has held that there is no limit on what an individual can spend to try to advocate for the candidate of their choice, and their theory is that the money that people spend in order to do that advocacy is a form of protected first amendment speech,” Weintraub said. “You can't speak without spending the money to get your message out there in some fashion. As a result of those holdings, we have these entities called super PACs that can collect unlimited amounts of money from individuals and from corporations and labor organizations as well.”
She explained that the creation of super PACs is one reason why the amount of money spent on campaigns has ballooned since 2010. But that doesn’t explain the full picture of why election spending continues to rise.
“The big leap was in between 2016 and 2020 when literally the amount that was raised and spent more than doubled,” she said. “And that really did take me by surprise.”
Weintraub couldn’t pinpoint what changed in 2020, apart from the fact that people were “very, very engaged” in the election.
“We're seeing the same level of engagement this year,” she said. “People care a lot. It's a very closely fought election … and when the election looks that close, that's when people feel like, oh, I have to give more money in order to try and influence this election to come out the way I want it to come out.”
At this point, it possible that we could ever take money out of politics? Weintraub said don’t count on it.
“I think it would be very difficult given the way the Supreme Court has viewed the money that people spend on politics as a protected first amendment right,” she said. “So I think we would need a change in first amendment jurisprudence at the Supreme Court level in order to really do anything about this, and that doesn't seem very likely at the moment.”
Listen to the full episode above to hear about one of the most competitive congressional races in Southern California, where a former NASA executive is looking to knock fof a former Navy pilot. Catch new episodes of Countdown 2024 live at 2:30 p.m. every weekday through Election Day.
And as results come in on Election Day, check them out below.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok