Follow the money

Discover who is behind political ads, fake ballots, and data-harvesting websites

Here's how to trace the money behind an ad, tell an official ballot from a look-alike mailer, and spot a "voter registration" site built to harvest your data instead.

In the final stretch before an election, more money funds ads that appear in our mailboxes, on TV, and in our social feeds than at almost any other point in the cycle. Some of that money comes directly from candidates who are on the ballot in November, but a growing share comes from political action committees and outside special interest groups.

We covered why this system exists in an earlier post on campaign finance, explaining how a handful of Supreme Court rulings have made it easier than ever for corporations, political parties, and wealthy donors to spend without limit, while individual donors are still capped.

The result of that is what you're seeing now — a complex maze of disclaimers that don’t really get you any closer to knowing who funded what.

When an ad, a flier, or a "helpful" website reaches you in the next few weeks, the question isn't only whether the claim is true — it's who paid to put it in front of you, and what they are trying to get you to do.

How to find out who paid for a political ad

Every political ad, whether print, broadcast, or mailed is legally required to carry a disclaimer naming who paid for it, and to state whether a candidate authorized it. That covers candidate ads, PAC ads, and "issue" spots that aren’t directly linked to a candidate.

This is an example of a correctly attributed ad paid for by a political party on behalf of the candidate. The disclaimer appears at the end of the ad.

What political ad disclaimers are required to tell you

Minnesota law spells out exactly what has to be on a disclaimer — it isn't left to the ad's discretion. Under Minnesota Statutes 211B.04, most campaign material has to include:

• The name of the campaign committee, PAC, or other entity that paid for it — typically in the form "Prepared and paid for by [name], [address]"

• A mailing address for that committee or entity, or a website that lists one

• The words "PAID ADVERTISEMENT" along with the disclaimer, at the beginning or end of print, radio, TV, or cable ads.

• Legible type — printed disclaimers (other than on signs, websites, or social media) must be at least 8-point font

A few small items are exempt, such as buttons, bumper stickers, personal letters. A missing disclaimer on one of those isn't a red flag by itself.

Even with all of that, the name on the disclaimer might be a candidate's campaign committee, or it might be a PAC or outside group with no obvious tie to anyone on the ballot. The name alone doesn't give you the full picture of who's money is actually behind it.

Tools for researching who funded a political ad

• For federal races (President, Congress, Senate), search the group's name in the FEC's committee database to see who's funding it and how much they've spent.

• For Minnesota legislative and other state races, run the same search through the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

• A web search of the group's name plus "who funds" often turns up reporting that includes whose dollars are behind the ads.

How to spot a fake ballot mailer

Ads aren't the only thing arriving in your mailbox this fall. For years, groups have sent out mailers that look like ballots, which can alarm and confuse the people who receive them.

Minnesota election administrators have told state lawmakers that sample ballots and absentee-ballot applications sent by private political committees are a recurring source of voter confusion, because recipients often assume the mailing came from a unit of government when it didn't. 

How to tell the difference between a fake ballot and a real one

First and foremost: You will only be mailed a ballot if you’ve requested one from the Minnesota Secretary of State.

• An actual Minnesota ballot comes only from your county elections office, arrives in an official county envelope, and is never mailed to you by a campaign, PAC, or party.

• If a mailer tells you who to vote for, it's campaign material, regardless of the seal, the bold warning label, or the word "official" printed on it.

• When something looks off, your county auditor's office or mn.sos.gov can confirm whether it actually came from the state.

Checking whether a voter help website is legitimate

VoteSafe.org, a voter-registration site heavily promoted through ads this year, is funded and operated by America PAC, Elon Musk's super PAC. Snopes confirmed that the site's privacy policy allows it to share or sell visitor data — full name, date of birth, home address, email, and cell phone number — to its "business partners."

According to reporting from Popular Information, the site was also built to closely resemble the name and look of Vote.org, an established nonpartisan nonprofit with no connection to America PAC.

Be careful about where you share your personal data

• A familiar-sounding name isn't proof of legitimacy. Look-alike domains are exactly what sites like VoteSafe.org are built to exploit.

• Check who owns the site and what its privacy policy actually says about sharing your data before you type anything in.