Who has to report
Federal candidates, party committees and political action committees file periodic reports with the Federal Election Commission covering receipts, disbursements, cash on hand and debts. Reports are public and searchable, and the filing calendar is fixed — quarterly or monthly, with additional pre-election and post-election reports.
State and local candidates file with state authorities under separate rules. Thresholds, categories and deadlines differ by state, so a federal filing and a state filing for the same election are not directly comparable.
Contributions, expenditures, and the categories that matter
A contribution is money given to a campaign and is subject to limits and source restrictions. An independent expenditure is spending advocating for or against a candidate made without coordination with that candidate, and is not subject to the same limits. The coordination line is what most disputes turn on.
Itemisation thresholds matter when reading a report. Contributions below the threshold are reported in aggregate rather than individually, so a filing showing a large unitemised total is not concealment — it is a large number of small donors, reported as the rules require.
What disclosure does not show
Disclosure reveals transactions, not motives, and its coverage has edges. Organisations that spend on politics while not having political activity as their primary purpose may not be required to disclose donors in the same way a political committee is, which is the origin of the term "dark money".
Timing also limits usefulness. Because reports are periodic, spending late in a campaign may not appear publicly until after voting, though separate 24- and 48-hour reporting requirements apply to independent expenditures close to an election.
Questions
Are small donors named in filings?
Only above the itemisation threshold. Below it, contributions are reported as an aggregate total rather than individually, so an unitemised sum is a count of small gifts, not hidden money.
What makes an expenditure independent?
Absence of coordination with the candidate or their committee. Coordination is defined by conduct — shared strategy, common vendors, material assistance — not merely by shared preference.
Where are federal filings published?
With the Federal Election Commission, which publishes them in a public searchable database along with bulk data files.
