Washington, DC-Public Campaign and more than 7,000 concerned citizens sent a letter to the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) today announcing opposition to Draft Advisory Opinion 2007-31 that would make it more difficult for the voices of small donors to be amplified in the 2008 presidential election.

"In the age of million dollar bundlers, the FEC should be concerned about amplifying the voice of those who aren't able to write thousand dollar checks," said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign. "Today, we're sending a letter to the FEC signed by more than 7,000 citizens concerned with making elections about voters and not big campaign donors."

At issue is a request from The John Edwards for President Committee. The committee has asked that donations made to the campaign through ActBlue, a website that collects individual donations, be able to trigger matching funds from the presidential public financing program. The Commissioners' decision, though, has an impact on candidates of all political parties who wish to participate in the presidential public financing system.

The current provision that would keep these donations from triggering matching funds was a safeguard against circumventing contribution limits when it was implemented. However, with the explosion in online giving, particularly by small donors, that provision is outdated. Committees such as ActBlue and presidential candidates alike have reliable and auditable processes to track and monitor contributions in a far more automated, efficient, and accurate manner than what existed when the regulation was first implemented

"Major donors and campaign bundlers are playing a bigger role in today's elections than ever before," said Nyhart. "The FEC should recognize the democratizing nature of online giving and reject the proposed ruling."

To learn more about the proposed ruling and to see Public Campaign's letter in full, please visit http://www.publicampaign.org/fec_letter1.

##

Public Campaign is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to sweeping reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big special interest money in American politics. For more information, go to www.publicampaign.org.