SuperPAC’s anonymous donors are often murky and leave questions of transparency policy violations

Democracy, elections, and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Anonymous US campaign donors to be revealed

By Alex Ogle (AFP)

WASHINGTON — Donors behind the shadowy “super PACs” whose attack ads have shaped the 2012 Republican presidential race were to be exposed for the first time Tuesday in financial filings with the Federal Election Commission. As of January 31 there were 302 of the so-called political action committees, and they have spent a total of $44.9 million dollars, according to the FEC. The money has come from donors who have been unknown until now. The groups have until midnight to file records with the FEC revealing the identity of their donors and how much they have raised — too late for voters in the four states that have already held Republican nominating contests.

“It’s a great day for transparency,” Stephen Colbert, the comedian, said facetiously Monday as he turned in records for the PAC he created, “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.” Voters “in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida will finally have the vital information that would have been useful before they voted,” said the star of the eponymous Colbert Report show on Comedy Central. Colbert’s PAC, created to mock the whole process, disclosed it has raised a whopping $1.02 million, mostly from multiple small donations.