Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Rep. Balint was joined by Reps. Jayapal and Tonko to introduce the Small Dollar Donor Protection Act (SDDPA). Online small dollar donations are increasingly prevalent in campaigns. In the first quarter of 2024, more than 1.2 million individuals made 5 million donations to House and Senate campaigns and about two-thirds of those donations were less than $20. This bill aims to ensure small dollar support is accurately portrayed by political campaigns and that the donations are not solicited fraudulently or under false pretenses. The Small Dollar Donor Protection Act (SDDPA) creates a reporting mechanism to keep campaigns honest about their level of grassroots support. 

“Active participation in campaigns and elections from everyday people is critical to the strength of our democracy. Increasing donations from everyday people, rather than corporate PACs and dark money groups, is a positive trend in American politics. But it’s important we take action to ensure campaigns do not abuse and deceive these small donors while lying about their grassroots support. I’m proud to be joined by Reps. Jayapal and Tonko to take action against practices that risk hurting working people and the integrity of our elections, ” said Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL). 

“Political campaigns love to tout small-dollar donations – and that’s a good thing. We should be encouraging candidates to focus on grassroots support from their constituents, rather than catering to wealthy individuals and corporations to bankroll their campaigns. But right now, many campaigns use deceptive strategies to solicit small dollar donations. That’s why I’m proud to support the Small Dollar Donor Protection Act to protect these donors from fraud and give the FEC more authority and oversight over how campaigns report their small-dollar donations. Grassroots fundraising is good for our political process and for democracy. When campaigns use misleading tactics to solicit money, that’s not only bad for our elections, but it’s also conning average people into spending their hard-earned money. It’s time to crack down on these practices,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07). 

“This bill more closely aligns the approach to small donations in federal elections with Vermont’s approach to campaign finance. Vermont already requires state and local campaigns to disclose basic information on small donations. I am happy to support my friend, Representative Becca Balint, in bringing Vermont common sense to our federal elections, and to all things in Congress,” said Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark. 

“Ultimately, transparency to voters and clarity for voters builds trust in candidates, the political process, and democracy,” said Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. “At this critical time, there is nothing more important than building trust in democracy and I would like to thank Congresswoman Balint for bringing this important issue to the forefront.”  

“Small dollar donations are generally a good and democratizing aspect of campaigns,” said Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. “But without proper oversight, it’s possible for unscrupulous candidates to corrupt the process and potentially mislead voters. We applaud Congresswoman Balint for her legislative proposal that would provide greater transparency and chart a course toward further protections for voters.”   

“While there are a lot of problems with how we finance federal campaigns, the polarized nature of our politics and likely split party control of Congress means that fixes will have to focus on addressing a narrower set of problems and in ways that can garner support from both parties. It strikes me that The Small Donor Protection Act does just that. It focuses on a real need to set rules for reporting small donor contributions while protecting the identity of contributors.  Additionally, the study that the Act commissions would be of great value, providing needed information for future legislation to protect contributors and prevent abuse of the system,” said Anthony “Jack” Gierzynski, Ph.D. Professor, UVM, Department of Political Science. 

This legislation would: 

·         Require campaigns to report the number of contributions received that were less than $200. 

·         Instruct the FEC to issue guidance within 90 days of enactment to describe the form of disclosure, with an emphasis on easy public access.  

·         Authorize the FEC to study how campaigns conduct SDD outreach and any deceptive or fraudulent tactics used.  

The bill is endorsed by Public Citizen, Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), and NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. 

###