THE LEGAL DIMENSION OF U.S. CAMPAIGN FINANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES (PACs)

This study examines the legal dimension of campaign finance in the United States, focusing on the structure of Political Action Committees (PACs). Employing qualitative document analysis and legal-textual analysis, the research draws primarily on the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), current regulations and guidance documents issued by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings in Citizens United v. FEC (2010), McCutcheon v. FEC (2014), and National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC (2026). The findings indicate that the U.S. campaign finance regime has been systematically liberalized through a sequence of judicial rulings since 2010; that the legal differentiation among PAC types (connected/SSF, nonconnected, leadership, hybrid, and Super PACs) produces distinct oversight regimes depending on the source of funds; and that undisclosed ("dark money") financing reached record levels during the 2024 election cycle. The 2026 National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC decision reinforced this trend by substantially liberalizing coordinated party-candidate spending. The study concludes that, despite the persistence of disclosure requirements, the erosion of spending limits has weakened effective oversight of campaign finance.