State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) has introduced legislation to ban candidates from pre-checking boxes for recurring online campaign contributions, saying the “predatory practice has no place in democracy.
The proposed legislation follows a POLITICO report that some donors are unwittingly making automatic donations to candidates without realizing they had authorized frequent charges to their credit card. The report centered on Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea, but recurring contributions are commonplace in campaign fundraising.
The issue at hand is whether the candidate pre-checks the recurring box that sometimes goes unnoticed by a donor. POLITICO cited one retiree who didn’t realize she’d made 34 separate contributions totally more than $3,000.
“An 85-year-old grandmother just trying to support a candidate she believes in shouldn’t have to worry about being tricked into draining her savings account,” Polistina stated. “Yet, that’s exactly what’s happening to seniors and working families across our state who discover their one-time donation has turned into a monthly subscription they never wanted. This is a predatory practice that has no place in democracy.”
Polistina’s Political Donation Transparency Act would mandate “clear, explicit consent for any recurring charges,” and create strict penalties for violators.
The Atlantic County senator supports Jack Ciattareli for governor.
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