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There was a front-page story in the Raleigh News & Observer recently which disclosed that 33 current members of the General Assembly received at least half of their individual campaign contributions from unidentified sources. Another 53 legislators didn't provide the State Board of Elections with the names for a quarter or more of their contributors, the newspaper story added. This sounded ominous until I read further and learned that these “unidentified sources” were the thousands of people who gave less than $100 to candidates running for the General Assembly. Under state law, candidates aren't required to gather and disclose information on less-than-$100 contributors, as they are required to do for big contributors. It dawned on me that, according to the paper, I'm an “unidentified source” of some of this money because I made small donations to the campaigns of two men I go to church with. One of them ushers occasionally, so it seemed natural he was passing the hat. I wrote a small check to the other one, even through he's in the Other Party, to keep church and state if not separate at least equal. Oh, and I bought a ticket to a barbecue another candidate hosted, but I didn't go; does that count, too? It felt exciting to be labeled an “unidentified source” of what the paper painted as something powerful yet vaguely sinister. But the credit didn't seem deserved, unless money just buys more in politics than it does elsewhere in the economy. You couldn't buy a decent suit with the money I gave my church acquaintances, but the paper makes it seem that such contributions are a corrupting influence. Maybe the paper is right that small contributors have a big influence on how legislators vote. If that is so we should be happy we do. If candidates can't go to the public asking for campaign contributions, they would be forced to rely even more on a few major benefactors. And it's right that state law exempts small contributors from all the campaign finance disclosure laws. Most people don't want their name on an official government list, and might think twice about helping an acquaintance run for office if they knew it had to be reported. Legislators also don't relish the idea of having to report the names of everyone who gave a few dollars to their campaigns; another candidate could use the list for their own solicitation. Small contributors together gave more than $1.1 million to winning candidates for the legislature last year. In our view, that's an encouraging statistic because it shows that average people still believe enough in democracy to help foot the bill. It's comforting, not alarming, that people continue to invest in democracy. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. This editorial first appeared in the June 1999 issue of North Carolina Magazine.
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