527 group

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A 527 organization (ger .: 527 group ), named after a section of the Internal Revenue Code (the US -Steuergesetzsammlung) is a tax-deductible organization in the US, which aims to influence the nomination , nomination , election or deselection of candidates for public office is.

meaning

In contrast to election campaigners or political parties , groups of 527 are allowed to accept donations from all legal sources with no height limit. Since they do not control the power of the US Federal Election Commission ( federal elections commission are under), they are permitted to operate, such as the general only on specific areas of responsibility voter mobilization and to discuss specific topics; however, supporting a specific candidate is prohibited, as is the coordination of one's own activities with those of an election campaigner. The question of the borderline between permissible treatment of topics and inadmissible candidate support is a permanent point of contention.

The importance of the 527 groups in the United States has increased since the electoral campaigner's permissibility to collect donations was severely restricted and regulated. In the 2004 US presidential campaign, for example, groups supporting the election of John Kerry spent around $ 63 million, largely on television commercials. The election campaign teams of incumbent George W. Bush and challenger John Kerry accuse each other of illegal collusion with various 527 groups. Several people on both sides have already withdrawn from certain election campaign positions in order to avoid the appearance of illegal collusion, such as lawyers who also held mandates for the election campaign organizations and for 527 groups. While George W. Bush described the influence of all 527 groups as "harmful" and repeatedly spoke out in favor of a more restrictive new regulation of the legal basis, John Kerry avoided such a fundamental rejection.

Examples of groups of 527