FEC moves ahead with plan for campaign donations by text

The Federal Election Commission moved forward with its plan to allow campaign giving via text message, assuring wireless carriers that they won't be responsible for verifying the eligibility of donors.

The wireless industry trade group CTIA sent a letter to the FEC last month expressing concerns that the donations would impose new burdens on carriers by forcing them to ensure that the donations are legal. The carriers, which included Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, argued that requiring them to verify the eligibility of a donor is "simply neither practicable nor workable." In response, the FEC has issued an advisory opinion clarifying that the campaigns — and not the carriers — will be responsible for reviewing whether the donations are proper. The FEC determined that normal texting charges can apply to text donations, but said special deviations from texting charges could qualify as "in-kind" contributions to a campaign. The campaigns of both President Obama and Mitt Romney support text donations, but the FEC cannot force wireless carriers to offer the service.