Campaign Text-Donation Plan Gets a New Push

Political campaigns are already raising millions of dollars via the Internet. Now, two political consulting firms are pushing a bipartisan plan to make online giving even easier by letting cellphone users make small donations with a single text.

Federal election law currently bars text-message donations, but officials are weighing a shift. "There's no rational reason that campaign contributions should not be part of the texting industry," said Craig Engle, an election-law attorney at Arent Fox who helped develop the plan. If the idea goes through, candidates could urge supporters to text a word, like "donate," to a five-digit number. Then a fixed amount—generally in the range of $5 to $20—would be billed to the donor's cellphone account. The Federal Election Commission is expected to make a decision in June.