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Understanding political committees and campaign finance laws is crucial for informed voting. Learn about their roles, regulations, and how to stay informed.
If you’ve ever received a political mailer, seen a campaign ad, or noticed a disclaimer that says “Paid for by…,” you’ve encountered a political committee.
Understanding what political committees are—and how they operate—is one of the most practical tools voters have for navigating modern elections. This article explains political committees in clear, straightforward terms so you can better understand:
- Who is influencing races
- How money moves through elections
- Why paying attention to funding sources matters
This is an evergreen resource and will be linked throughout our candidate overview articles to help readers interpret campaign messaging.
Table of Contents
- What Are Political Committees?
- Why Do Political Committees Exist?
- What Can Political Committees Do?
- What Can’t Political Committees Do?
- Are Committees the Same as Candidates?
- Campaign Finance Laws and Citizens United
- How Much Money Is Spent on Elections Now?
- Dark Money in Politics: What They Mean
- How Transparency Works in Political Spending
- Where Transparency Gets Complicated
- Why This Matters for Voters
- How to Find Political Committee (PAC) Information
- How Michigan Women Helping Voters Stay Informed
- Why We Encourage Readers to Look at PAC Information
What Are Political Committees?
Political committees are legally registered groups that raise and spend money related to elections. They exist to ensure that political activity involving money is organized, tracked, and publicly reported.
In Michigan, most political spending does not happen directly between individuals and candidates. Instead, it flows through committees that must comply with campaign finance laws and disclose their financial activity.
Why Do Political Committees Exist?
Committees are formed for many reasons, including to:
- Support or oppose specific candidates.
- Promote certain policy positions or issues.
- Represent the interests of workers, businesses, or professional groups.
- Support a political party or political leadership.
- Participate in elections without being a candidate.
Some committees focus on a single race. Others operate across many elections and offices over time.
What Can Political Committees Do?
Political committees may:
- Raise money from individuals and organizations (within legal limits).
- Spend money on advertising, mailers, and voter outreach.
- Donate to candidates or other committees, if allowed.
- Publicly report their financial activity.
These activities are how committees try to influence elections.
What Can’t Political Committees Do?
Political committees may not:
- Run for office themselves.
- Vote in elections.
- Ignore campaign finance laws or reporting requirements.
- Coordinate improperly with candidates when restricted by law.
- Hide donors or spending activity.
Committees operate under transparency and compliance rules designed to make political spending visible to the public.
Are Committees the Same as Candidates?
No.
Candidates are individuals seeking public office. Committees are financial entities that support, oppose, or engage in election-related activity.
A candidate may have an official campaign committee. Many other committees are independent and may support multiple candidates—or none at all.
Campaign Finance Laws and Citizens United
Political campaigns in the U.S. are governed by campaign finance laws intended to limit corruption, require transparency, and inform the public about who is funding political activity.
For many years, there were stricter limits on how much corporations, unions, and organizations could spend to influence elections. That changed significantly in 2010.
What Is Citizens United?
In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
- Corporations and unions have a First Amendment right to spend money on political messaging
- The government cannot limit independent political spending by these groups if it is not coordinated with a candidate
Why Did the Supreme Court Decide This?
The Court ruled that spending money to communicate political ideas is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.
What the Court Did Not Say
- Corporations should control elections
- Money equals votes
- All campaign finance limits are unconstitutional
Why Is the Decision Controversial?
Critics argue that unlimited independent spending amplifies some voices more than others. Supporters argue that limiting political speech is more dangerous than unequal influence.
How Much Money Is Spent on Elections Now?
- The 2008 federal election cycle cost about $5 billion
- The 2020 federal election cycle exceeded $14 billion
- The 2022 midterm election cycle cost more than $16 billion when federal, state, and local races are combined
- The 2024 federal election cycle totaled approximately $16 billion
Dark Money in Politics: What People Mean
When people say “dark money,” they usually mean political spending where voters can see that money was spent, but cannot easily see who originally funded it.
This is not necessarily illegal money. “Dark money” typically refers to spending routed through certain nonprofit organizations that are allowed to participate in some political activity without publicly listing all of their donors.
Why It’s Called Dark Money
- Some organizations can spend money on political messaging without disclosing their donors publicly.
- Voters may see “Paid for by [Organization Name]” but still have trouble finding the original funding sources behind that organization.
- Money can move through multiple entities before it is spent, which can make the trail harder to follow.
How This Differs From Traditional PACs
Many political committees (including many PACs) must disclose donors above certain thresholds. But some nonprofits are not required to list donors publicly in the same way, even if they spend money influencing public debate during an election cycle.
Why It’s Controversial
- Critics say it reduces transparency and makes it harder for voters to judge the motivations behind political messaging.
- Supporters say donor privacy can protect people from retaliation and that political speech should be strongly protected.
What Voters Can Do
- Start with the disclaimer: Who paid for the mailer or ad?
- Search that group in public databases (state or federal) to see what filings exist.
- Look for patterns: which groups show up repeatedly across races and issues?
Following the money doesn’t tell you what to think, but it can give you essential context for evaluating political messages.
How Transparency Works in Political Spending
- Committees must register with the government
- They must file public financial reports
- Ads must disclose who paid for them
Where Transparency Gets Complicated
- Donor data may appear after spending occurs
- Money may pass through multiple committees
- Reports can be hard to interpret quickly
Why This Matters for Voters
Following the money helps voters understand who is shaping political messages and why. It doesn’t guarantee clarity, but it does provide context.
How to Find Political Committee (PAC) Information
If you want to better understand who is funding political messaging, campaign finance databases are the best place to start. These databases are public, free to access, and maintained by state and federal election agencies.
Where to Find Federal PAC Information
For presidential, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House races, campaign finance information is available through the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
You can search for:
- Candidate committees
- Political action committees (PACs and Super PACs)
- Independent expenditures
- Individual and organizational donors
The FEC database allows you to look up who raised money, who spent money, and where that money went in federal elections.
Where to Find Michigan State and Local PAC Information
For Michigan statewide, legislative, and local races, campaign finance information is published by the Michigan Bureau of Elections.
The state’s campaign finance portal is available at:
https://mi-boe.entellitrak.com/
This database includes:
- Candidate committees
- Political action committees
- Independent committees
- Public disclosure reports showing donations and spending
All of this information is publicly available and searchable.
How We Gathered the PAC Information
The committee information included on our candidate pages comes from publicly available data published by the Michigan Bureau of Elections.
To generate the list of committees related to a specific race, we:
- Visited the Michigan campaign finance portal at https://mi-boe.entellitrak.com/
- Selected the Campaigns search
- Set the Campaign Type field
- Selected the relevant Office Sought (such as Secretary of State)
- Left other fields blank to view all related committees
This search returns political committees that have registered campaign activity connected to that office. These results may include candidate committees, independent committees, and political action committees.
How Michigan Women Helping Voters Stay Informed
Michigan Women is adding political committee (PAC) information to our candidate overview articles to help readers better understand the broader funding environment around each race.
This information is provided for civic education purposes only. Listing a committee does not imply support, opposition, or endorsement of any candidate.
Why We Encourage Readers to Look at PAC Information
Political messaging does not always come directly from candidates. Ads, mailers, and digital content are often paid for by committees.
By paying attention to:
- Who paid for a message
- Which committees are active in a race
- Patterns of spending across multiple races
Voters can better understand the context around campaign messaging and reduce the risk of being misled by oversimplified or anonymous political content.
Following the money doesn’t tell you what to think—but it does give you more information to think with.
