Donating to Presidential Campaigns

Donating to Pres. Obama’s campaign is quite easy.  I, an Australian citizen, residing in Tasmania, donated US$3.00, without having to supply a CVV for my Visa card, and without needing to reveal my citizenship.  I provided my real name (but, since there was no provision for listing Tasmania and my correct postcode, I selected AK for the State field and invented a ZIP).  I provided my real e-mail address and telephone number.

Election Day is closer that I think?  Umm, I thought it was on Tuesday, November 6 and thus (as of today, Tuesday, 9 October) four weeks away.

Donating to Gov. Romney’s campaign is not so easy for a foreigner.  In order to donate, I’d have to provide a CVV and affirm that “I am a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident”.  Consequently, I was unable to donate to the Romney campaign.

UPDATE:  going back to the sites so I could provide links thereto, I observed—too late!—that there is more to the page than first met my sadly astigmatic eyes; the hidden bottom half of Pres. Obama’s donation page features several conditions which I overlooked earlier: “By submitting the form above you confirm that […] I am a United States citizen or a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States”.  Eheu!  Mea culpa!  I sincerely apologise to the Obama-Biden campaign for my missing that out-of-sight notice.

   

UPDATE II:  see Bryan Preston’s report, “Obama Campaign Soliciting Foreign Donations (Again)”, and Chris Muir’s Day by Day cartoon, “The Gated Community”.

UPDATE III (10 October):  see “Blue State Digital: Is It the Linchpin of the Obama Campaign’s Foreign Donor Scandal?” by Doug Ross.

UPDATE IV (10 October):  I received two e-mails from Vice President Joe Biden (supposedly) which are slightly dissimilar.  The first came to the address the Obama-Biden campaign usually sends their solicitations; the second came to my main address, which I used when donating.  Try to spot the difference.  I find this subtle refinement in e-mails all the more noteworthy since discovering that Pres. Obama makes no effort to alter the wording of the form-letters of condolence which he sends to the families of fallen military personnel.

UPDATE V (11 October):

UPDATE VI (13 October):

UPDATE VII (13 October):  I wondered whether the Obama-Biden site for donating in Spanish also featured appropriate legal conditions; it does, but out of sight—in English:

UPDATE VIII (25 October):  see “How the Obama Campaign Is Illegally Accepting Donations from Foreign Citizens”, by Mike McNally.