Political action committees

A traditional PAC may contribute directly to candidate committees within applicable limits and disclosure requirements. That transfer becomes money the recipient campaign controls. The PAC may also make its own independent expenditures if it does not coordinate them with the candidate. A direct contribution and an independent advertisement therefore use different legal pathways even when both support the same person. The first transfers value to the campaign; the second remains the PAC's own speech and spending.

An independent-expenditure-only committee, commonly called a Super PAC, differs from a traditional contribution-making PAC. It may raise unlimited funds for independent electoral spending but may not contribute those funds directly to federal candidates or coordinate the spending with them. A hybrid PAC keeps contribution and independent-spending accounts under separate legal rules. These distinctions matter because the everyday word PAC can hide different fundraising, spending, and coordination limits.

Suppose a trade association's traditional multicandidate PAC writes a check to a candidate committee. That is a contribution governed by the applicable limit and reporting rules. If a properly structured independent-expenditure-only committee pays for its own advertisement without coordinating with the candidate, the spending is independent rather than a direct contribution. Neither activity gives the group legal control over the official after election. The committee type matters, but recipient, control of the funds, and coordination determine the transaction's legal category.

Video lesson: Campaign finance | Political participation | US government and civics | Khan Academy