Political action committee facts for kids

A Political Action Committee (often called a PAC) is a special group in the United States that helps collect money for political campaigns. They gather funds from their members and then use that money to support or oppose politicians running for office, or to support or oppose certain laws or ideas that people vote on. PACs were created to make sure that money in politics is handled fairly.

What is a PAC?

A PAC is like a special club or organization that focuses on politics. Its main job is to raise money and then spend it to influence elections. They can give money directly to a candidate's campaign, or they can spend money to tell people to vote for or against a candidate or a specific issue.

Why Were PACs Created?

PACs were created because of rules called campaign finance reform. These rules are put in place to try and make sure that elections are fair and that no one person or group has too much power because of their money. The idea is to make sure that people know where political money comes from and how it's being used.

How Do PACs Work?

PACs collect money from many different people, like their members or supporters. They then use this collected money in a few ways:

• They can donate money directly to a politician's campaign.
• They can spend money to create ads or send messages that support a candidate or an idea.
• They can also spend money to create ads or send messages that are against a candidate or an idea.

The money they collect and spend must follow strict rules set by the government. These rules help keep track of who is giving money and how it is being used in elections.

What Do PACs Support?

PACs can support different things in politics:

• Candidates: They can help a person who is running for president, senator, governor, or any other political job. They might pay for ads that say good things about their chosen candidate.
• Ballot Initiatives: Sometimes, people vote directly on a specific law or idea, not just for a person. This is called a ballot initiative. PACs can spend money to convince people to vote "yes" or "no" on these ideas.
• Legislation: PACs can also try to influence laws that are being discussed in government. They might try to get a certain law passed or stopped.

Types of PACs

There are different kinds of PACs, but they all have the same goal: to influence elections and laws. Some PACs are connected to businesses, labor unions, or special interest groups. Others are not directly linked to any specific organization and are formed just to support a particular cause or candidate.

See also

In Spanish: Comité de acción política para niños