Mother Jones - Dark Money: "Americans Elect" Wants to Pick Candidates Via Internet Voting

[Wilms]

x-post from Election Reform

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In September, campaign finance watchdogs Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center requested that the IRS investigate whether Americans Elect and several other 501(c)(4)s qualify for tax-exempt status. Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, says that Americans Elect is functioning like a political party, making it ineligible for tax exemption. "A political party cannot be a social-welfare organization under our tax laws," Wertheimer says. "The danger to the integrity of the electoral system is the failure to disclose their donors, which is essential information in our political process."

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The source of Americans Elect's money is not the only cause for concern. Pamela Smith, president of VerifiedVoting.org, a voters' advocacy group, questions the group's reliance on internet voting. Smith and other election experts argue that it is insecure and exceedingly difficult to audit.

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But Americans Elect's national profile continues to grow. According to its website, it has already collected over 2 million signatures nationwide in its effort to get on state ballots, and drawn suggestions from over 6.5 million people to help draw up a party platform—all this, even as concerns about its dark money and voting system continue to mount.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x518200

[msongs]

1. paper ballots hand counted at the precinct level. that is all we need nt