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The Federal Election Commission Gets the Message

By CREW Staff

Rarely do we have the opportunity to congratulate the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on a job well done, but positive reinforcement has been known to go a long way.  In that spirit, we applaud the FEC’s uncommon unanimous decision to allow campaign contributions via text message.  We’re already seeing how shadowy groups with seemingly endless cash are shaping the 2012 election.  There’s little room for average voters to make their voices heard.  

In our increasingly digital world, it’s clear communicating via text is no longer exclusively the province of teenage girls; campaigns figured this out in 2008 and literally have not stopped texting voters since.  Why not let voters use the same tool?  

As our April letter stated, more than 30 million Americans have responded to requests for charitable contributions in the wake of international crises by texting in small dollar donations.  It is high time for the FEC to allow voters to put in their two cents – literally – in an effort to counterbalance the effects of dark money in politics. 

This decision will increase the influence of smaller donors and perhaps will allow members of Congress to spend less time fundraising and more time listening to their constituents.  This is a win-win for candidates and donors.  We look forward to seeing how text-based political contributions work to change the conversation in 2012.