Press Release:
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) sent a letter to Federal Election Commission Chairman Sean Cooksey and Vice Chair Ellen Weintraub demanding an investigation into the abnormal transaction activity related to donations to ActBlue, a fundraising platform used to support left-leaning and Democratic nonprofits and politicians.
This letter addresses reports of unusual transactions involving large sums of money through ActBlue. According to FEC data, many individuals have allegedly made numerous donations through the platform each year, often without realizing their names and addresses were being used for these donations.
"As the co-chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus, I am deeply concerned about reports of fraudulent donations through ActBlue undermining the integrity of our elections," said Congresswoman Tenney. "ActBlue's decision not to require CVV numbers for donations raises serious concerns about the potential of fraudulent activity and foreign interference in our electoral system. This is on top of the extremely troubling reports of unauthorized use of individuals' names and addresses to create fraudulent accounts and make substantial donations without their knowledge. It is imperative that the FEC thoroughly investigates these claims and reviews ActBlue's security measures to ensure compliance with the law."
In the letter, Congresswoman Tenney demanded answers to the following questions:
- Has the FEC already examined anomalous transaction activity or ActBlue's lax verification processes? If so, please provide a detailed summary of the results of that investigation.
- If not, will the FEC commit to investigating potential fraudulent donations to ActBlue, as well as the organization's lack of verification guardrails?
- Is ActBlue in compliance with federal rules as it relates to accepting online donations?
- Will the FEC consider the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration's August 5 request for emergency rulemaking to require political campaigns to verify the CVV of donors who contribute online?
Read the full text of the letter here.