This is a reply to questions raised about SB403 from yesterday – click and go to the 56-minute, 20-second mark of the hearing here.

One month after we answered several questions about the bill designed to stop the 20-year practice used until this year by ActBlue to process billions of dollars in unverified gift card contributions, a new attack was raised for the first time in the Senate Committee Wednesday.

Senator Larson’s New Claim

During the Senate Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs hearing on SB 403, Senator Chris Larson (District 7, D–Milwaukee) claimed that requiring donors to verify a U.S. address would somehow prevent American citizens living overseas from contributing.

Why the Claim Doesn’t Hold Up

That concern would only apply to an extremely narrow case — a U.S. citizen who (1) lives overseas and (2) has chosen not to register to vote.
It’s hard to imagine an American who cares so little about elections that they haven’t registered to vote, yet simultaneously cares so much that they want to contribute to a campaign.

What the Bill Actually Says

SB 403 is clear:

“If the contribution is made by a U.S. citizen living outside of the United States, and the credit card billing address is not a location in the United States, the individual must provide the mailing address of the location in the United States that the individual uses for voter registration purposes.”

In other words, if an American overseas is registered to vote, their voting address also satisfies the contribution requirement.

Federal Guidance Makes It Clear How Easy This Is

According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), it’s easy for U.S. citizens living abroad to maintain a voting residence in their last state of domicile. From FVAP.gov:

“Your voting residence is your address in the state in which you were last domiciled, immediately prior to leaving the United States.
This residence may remain valid even if:

• You no longer own property or have other ties to that state.

• Your intent to return to that state is uncertain.

• Your previous address is no longer a recognized residential address.”

Therefore, the only Americans unable to provide a U.S. address for campaign contributions are those who have chosen not to vote at all – and those would be the only people not allowed to donate to a political campaign if this bill passes.

Why Verification Matters

If a contribution comes from someone without a U.S. address who also isn’t registered to vote, it raises obvious red flags. Such donations could easily be in the name of someone who didn’t intend to give — exactly the type of fraudulent or foreign-influenced contribution this legislation is designed to prevent.

This concern isn’t hypothetical. It’s been well documented for nearly two decades:

• In 2008, The Washington Post reported that a retired Missouri teacher’s name was used to funnel $174,000 into President Obama’s campaign.

• The New York Times followed up on October 9, 2008, revealing many cases involving the system we want to stop using names like  “Test Person” from “Some Place, UT” donated over $2,400, and another fictitious donor, “Jockim Alberton” from “1581 Leroy Avenue, Wilmington, DE,” gave $445 — even though no such address or person exists.
  Read the archived Times report here.

   

Even President Obama’s own campaign acknowledged the problem at the time, as did multiple media outlets. After an extensive internal investigation, the campaign itself could not figure out the true source of the money and gave it to charity.

ActBlue’s Quiet Admission

ActBlue itself has now abandoned the unverified process, switching this year to begin verifying contributions — effectively bringing itself into compliance with what SB 403 would require.
This is precisely why now is the right time to codify verification standards into law, ensuring that future platforms or bad actors cannot revert to the old loophole.

Ongoing Evidence of Abuse

This is not a “vibe” or an assumption, as charged during the Senate hearing. It’s 17 years of consistent reporting and data.

Our 2019 Fox News exclusive report showed that nearly half of all ActBlue donors that year listed themselves as “unemployed” — another red flag that many transactions could be routed through untraceable or misrepresented identities.

This is not a “vibe” or an assumption. It’s 17 years of consistent reporting and data.

Path to Passage in Wisconsin and Across the U.S.

While legislators in other states are pleased that we have gone through the process of hearing objections and determining final language that both works and is enforceable, many politicos may still be willing to process unverified contributions. However, the bank processors—who would be subject to fines equaling the amount processed under this bill—are risk-averse and are not going to jeopardize their institutions by taking that risk. If any rogue actor attempts to resurrect ActBlue’s old process after it led to the resignation of seven top officers, the bank processors will simply refuse the business.

We are pleased that the companion bill, Assembly Bill 385, has passed committee and will be on the Assembly floor November 19. You can watch our testimony on behalf of our sister 501(c)(4) Freedom and Family Action during the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections hearing, or read the written version here.

As Assembly Sponsor David Murphy said during Q&A at the hearing, this bill is not for show. He and Senate Sponsor Cory Tomczyk truly hope Governor Evers will sign Senate Bill 403.