The Official Instructions to Start a Super PAC

So you want to start a super PAC. Maybe youre worried that your vote doesnt really matter. Maybe youre tired of other super PACs raising and spending unlimited amounts of cash from corporations and unions to sway elections and youre asking yourself If you cant beat em, why not join em? Not a problem. Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court and Citizens United, anyone can start a super PAC. And the best part: It doesnt cost a dime. Never mind the Steven Colbert super PACs Super Fun Pack, which hilariously offers prospective activists, All you need is a burning desire for civic engagement and $99. Heres how to start a super PAC. For free. Just by signing your John Hancock on a couple pieces of paper. Step 1: Pick a Cause or Candidate First things first. Your super PAC doesnt have to target a politician, though it certainly can. Restore Our Future Inc., for example, is the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC that spent considerable sums of cash in Election 2012 going after the former Massachusetts governors Republican opponents, including Rick Santorum. Your super PAC can raise awareness about a particular cause or issue such as hydraulic fracking, abortion, or taxes. Yours can be a liberal super PAC or a conservative super PAC. Got a burning desire for civic engagement, as Colbert would put it, on a particular topic? Go for it. Step 2: Pick a Clever Name for Your Super PAC Youll want to name your super PAC something catchy. Something people will be able to easily remember when they break out their checkbooks. Already taken are Joe Six PAC, a super PAC that proclaims it is for the average Joe; the Sick and Tired of Washington super PAC, whose goals seem pretty obvious; and DogPAC, a super PAC representing Dogs Against Romney. Step 3: Other Essentials for Starting Your Own Super PAC All you need to create and run your official super PAC now are a bank account, a charming personality to raise all that money from corporations and unions, and a friend to serve as treasurer to keep track of your super PACs fundraising and spending. Pick someone who is trustworthy and responsible. Theyll need to file spending reports with the government. Step 4: File the Paperwork To officially launch your super PAC you will need to file whats called a Statement of Organization, or Form 1, with the Federal Election Commission. Check box 5(f) under Type of Committee. Also, write a short cover letter to the Federal Election Commission. Youll want to be sure you make it clear your new committee will be functioning as a super PAC. You can do that by including the following paragraph verbatim: This committee intends to make unlimited independent expenditures, and consistent with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision in SpeechNow v. FEC, it therefore intends to raise funds in unlimited amounts. This committee will not use those funds to make contributions, whether direct, in-kind, or via coordinated communications, to federal candidates or committees. Make sure to include your Statement of Organization your name, address, contact information, and the name of your super PAC and its treasurer. Mail your form to: Federal Election Commission 999 E. St., NW Washington, D.C. 20463 Step 5: What To Do With Your Super PAC As the proud new owner of a super PAC, you are permitted to raise unlimited amounts of money from people including your friends, neighbors, and families. But you can also solicit money from political action committees, corporations, and labor organizations. You can turn around and use all that money to produce and air TV commercials or take out a massive billboard along a busy highway to roundly criticizes a politician you dont like. Have fun and be creative! A Note of Caution: What You Cant Do With Your Super PAC This is pretty simple. You are not allowed to use all that money youve raised from corporations and unions to make direct contributions to candidates or their political action committees. You also cant take out TV ads or billboards in coordination with any of those candidates or their PACs. This is a fairly gray area, so play it safe and steer clear of planning your attacks with any candidate or elected official.