馃挼 PACs, Nonprofits and Electioneering in Idaho
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Special edition

馃挼 PACs, Nonprofits and Electioneering in Idaho: How the Money Works and How to Do It Right

Everything about money and messaging in Idaho politics: candidate committees, PACs, independent expenditures, electioneering, ballot measures, nonprofits, schools and churches, and the literature, signs, mail and ads they pay for. Who can give to whom and how much, how the money must be handled, what is restricted, how to set up and run a committee step by step, where to file, how to research who is paying for what, and a detailed legal analysis of dark money: what it is, when it is illegal or unethical, and how to track it.

14 lessons 路 about 6.5 hours 路

Start lesson 1

  1. 1The Money Map: Every Player and What Idaho Law Calls ItCandidate committees, PACs, party committees, ballot measure committees, independent spenders, nonbusiness entities, federal PACs and Super PACs, 501(c) nonprofits, 527s and LLCs: what each one is under Idaho Code 67-6602 and federal law, what it may do, where it reports and whether its donors are public.20 min
  2. 2Who Can Give, and How MuchIdaho's contribution limits under Idaho Code 67-6610A, what counts as a contribution, who may and may not give, the related-entity rule, foreign money, straw donors, anonymous and online gifts, the 2025 to 2026 federal limits, earmarking and bundling.19 min
  3. 3Running a Candidate CommitteeA step-by-step guide to an Idaho candidate's money: when you become a candidate, appointing a treasurer, the campaign bank account rules from House Bill 930 (2026), recording gifts, spending and the personal use ban, loans and debt, the reporting calendar and 48-hour notices, where local candidates file, record keeping and closing out.20 min
  4. 4Forming and Running a PACHow to form, fund, spend through, report for and dissolve an Idaho political committee; the nonbusiness entity alternative for nonprofits; the difference between contributions and independent expenditures; federal connected and nonconnected PACs; and how Citizens United, SpeechNow.org and Carey produced Super PACs and Hybrid PACs, with real Idaho PACs as examples.20 min
  5. 5Independent Expenditures and Electioneering CommunicationsHow Idaho and federal law sort outside political spending into express advocacy, independent expenditures, electioneering communications and coordinated spending, what each one must report and when, what donors get disclosed, and the 250-foot rule at polling places.30 min
  6. 6Literature, Signs and Ads: The Rules for Every FormatThe Idaho and federal rules for campaign literature, yard and road signs, door-to-door canvassing, mail, broadcast and cable ads, digital ads, texts and robocalls, AI-made media and false statements, and how those costs show up on Sunshine reports.30 min
  7. 7Ballot Measures and Issue CampaignsHow Idaho initiatives and referendums qualify, what Reclaim Idaho v. Denney changed, how ballot measure committees raise and report money, what local bond and levy campaigns must disclose, and what public entities may and may not say about their own measures.27 min
  8. 8Nonprofits in Politics: Charities, Social Welfare Groups, Trade Associations and 527sWhat 501(c)(3), (c)(4) and (c)(6) organizations and 527s may do in elections under federal tax law, whether a charity may give to an Idaho PAC or ballot measure committee, how churches are treated after the 2026 rulings, how donor lists are handled at the IRS, and when an Idaho nonprofit that spends on candidates or measures must report and name its donors.34 min
  9. 9Lobbying, Gifts and Public OfficialsIdaho's lobbying law after its 2025 move to Title 74, Chapter 7: who registers, what monthly reports show, the gift and bribery laws in Title 18, conflicts under the Ethics in Government Act, the ban on public money for campaigns, and the political limits on state and federally funded employees.21 min
  10. 10Filing and Research Tools: From a Yard Sign to the People Who PaidWhere Idaho filers file and where anyone can look: the two Sunshine portals, the Secretary of State's guides and schedule, FEC data, IRS and ProPublica nonprofit records, IRS 527 filings, platform ad libraries, FCC public files and Idaho business records, with a worked research path from a mailer to its funders.20 min
  11. 11Complaints, Enforcement and the Mistakes That Get Campaigns in TroubleWho enforces Idaho's campaign finance and related laws, how to file a complaint with the Secretary of State, the FEC, the IRS or the FCC, what penalties apply, real Idaho cases from 2012 to 2026, the mistakes that keep showing up, a final checklist, and the numbers from recent Idaho campaigns.22 min
  12. 12Schools, Churches and Religious Organizations: What They Can and Cannot Do in ElectionsWhat churches, other religious nonprofits, private schools and colleges, Idaho public schools and universities, and parent groups and booster clubs may and may not do in elections, under federal tax law, the Church Audit Procedures Act, Idaho's public-funds ban and the 2026 Idaho church guidance, with the current status of the federal case over pulpit speech.27 min
  13. 13Who Can Give to Whom, and When: Questions and AnswersA relationship matrix, a calendar and plain answers to the questions residents, candidates, treasurers and nonprofit boards ask most: which of Idaho's political players may give to or spend on which others, under what limits, and when each rule switches on.38 min
  14. 14Dark Money in Depth: What It Is, When It Is Illegal or Unethical, and How to Track ItA book-chapter treatment of dark money: what the term means and who uses it, the court cases and statutes that built the disclosure system, the federal and Idaho enforcement cases that mark where hidden money becomes illegal, the legal-but-contested tactics, how Idaho compares with Arizona, Alaska and Montana, a step-by-step method for tracing a mailer to its funders, and the reform proposals on the table.75 min