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Politics

Buying Your Vote

Dark Money and Big Data

A series of court rulings led to the creation of super PACs and an influx of “dark money” into politics, fundamentally changing how elections work. ProPublica is following the money and exploring campaign issues you won't read about elsewhere.

Paul Ryan Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the House Republican

Could Scott Walker's Legal Victory Expand PAC Superpowers?

New IRS Rules on Dark Money Likely Won't Be Ready Before 2016 Election

Secret Donors Behind Some Super PACs Funneling Millions into Midterms

A Kansas Group's Push to Oust Judges Reveals a Gap in Campaign Finance Rules

In Wisconsin, Dark Money Got a Mining Company What It Wanted

Cuomo Has Raised Millions Through Loophole He Pledged to Close

IRS Delays New Rules for Dark Money Groups

Senate to Take Up Longshot Amendment to Regulate Campaign Finance

Dark Money Group Sues IRS Over Targeting, Disclosure

Liberal Outside Money Groups Spend Big in North Carolina

What Happens When a Dark Money Group Blows Off IRS Rules? Nothing.

What Newly Released Docs Tell Us About the IRS and How It Handles Dark Money Groups

Podcast: The Hidden Power of Dark Money

Who Controls the Kochs’ Political Network? ASMI, SLAH and TOHE

How Dark Money Flows Through the Koch Network

The Dark Money Man: How Sean Noble Moved the Kochs’ Cash into Politics and Made Millions

A Reading Guide on the Billionaire Koch Brothers

The IRS Moves to Limit Dark Money – But Enforcement Still a Question

New Tax Return Shows Karl Rove’s Group Spent Even More On Politics Than It Said

Dark Money Groups Pay $1 Million in Fines in California Case

Dark Money Operative Sees Hope for Meth House Documents Go Up in Smoke

D’Oh! 'America Is Not Stupid' Wins IRS Recognition as Tax-Exempt Nonprofit

IRS Office That Targeted Tea Party Also Disclosed Confidential Docs From Conservative Groups

Senator Pushes for Investigation of ‘False Statements’ by Dark Money Groups

Voter Information Wars: Will the GOP Team Up With Wal-Mart’s Data Specialist?

Inside Game: Creating PACs and then Spending Their Money

From Citizens United to Super PACs: A Campaign Finance Reading Guide

IRS Should Bar Dark Money Groups From Funding Political Ads, Lawsuit Says

Can Vote-By-Mail Fix Those Long Lines At The Polls?

Big Corporations Put Up Seed Funding for Republican Dark Money Group

Obama Says We Need to Fix Voting Lines. But How?

The Best Reporting on Redistricting Shenanigans (#MuckReads)

Four Graphs That Show How Democrats Predict Your Political Beliefs

In Minnesota, Democratic Grandmas Gather Data About Their Neighbors

Controversial Dark Money Group Among Five That Told IRS They Would Stay Out of Politics, Then Didn't

In Montana, Dark Money Helped Democrats Hold a Key Senate Seat

How Much Did Sheldon Adelson Really Spend on Campaign 2012?

Karl Rove's Dark Money Group Promised IRS It Would Spend 'Limited' Money on Elections

Are Voter ID Laws Here to Stay?

Everything We Know (So Far) About Obama’s Big Data Tactics

Why Is Arizona Still Counting Votes?

What Effect, If Any, Did Voter ID Laws Have on the Election?

Check ’Em Out: Donations to Dark Money Group Revealed

Obama's Microtargeting 'Nuclear Codes'

Welcome to Election Day: Seven Things That Could Go Wrong (or Already Have)

Why It May Be Illegal to Instagram Your Ballot

Five of the Most Confusing Ballots in the Country

Key Montana Senate Race Draws Deluge of Dark Money

Dark Money Group’s Donors Revealed

Dark Money Group's Bank Records Suggest Ties to Campaign Work

Reading Guide: Where Romney and Obama Actually Stand on Global Warming

A Pop-Up Problem

When Dark Money Goes Local

Dark Money Rises

More Evidence Key Dark Money Group May Have Misled IRS

Documents Found in Meth House Bare Inner Workings of Dark Money Group

Reading Guide: Where Romney and Obama Stand on the Supreme Court

Dark Money and Citizens United: What Obama and Romney Would and Wouldn’t Do About It

How Companies Have Assembled Political Profiles for Millions of Internet Users

Reading Guide: Where Obama and Romney Actually Stand on Iran

Did the Dark Money Group that Spurred a Landmark Ruling Mislead the IRS?

Democratic Congressman Takes Heat For Lobbyist-Organized Taiwan Trip

Message Machine Starts Providing Answers

Money is Speech: A Musical History of Campaign Finance

The Campaign Finance Free-For-All: How We Got to This Point

Four Ways Ohio and Others Have Toughened Voting Rules

11 Key Reads on the Economy Ahead of Tonight's Debate

What We Still Don’t Know About Mitt Romney’s Taxes

Adelson: My Casino is Being Investigated Because I Oppose Obama

Finders Weepers: Early Bain Disputes Cast New Light on Its Business

Mitt Romney's Tax Mysteries: A Reading Guide

How an Obscure Federal Rule Could Be Shaking Up Presidential Politics

Campaign Email Overload? We've Got a Website for That

No Tax Returns for You, Dark Money Groups Say

Akin Controversy Stirs GOP: Where Do Republicans Stand on Abortion Exemption?

Ask Kim Barker Anything About Campaign Finance (a Reddit Chat)

Political or Not? You Be the Judge

Dark Money: Methodology

How Nonprofits Spend Millions on Elections and Call it Public Welfare

How Some Nonprofit Groups Funnel Dark Money Into Campaigns

Two Dark Money Groups Outspending All Super PACs Combined

Campaign Ads and the 2012 Election: Join Our Google Plus Chat

Pandora Asks Listeners to Share Their Emails With Romney

Is Your Neighbor a Democrat? Obama Has an App for That

Help Us Find Out How Politicians Are Targeting You Online

New Questions About Sheldon Adelson’s Casino Operations in Macau

Dark Money Political Groups Target Voters Based on Their Internet Habits 

Explore Hundreds of Campaign Emails in the Message Machine

Emails on Alves' Employment and Payment

Inside the Investigation of Leading Republican Money Man Sheldon Adelson

How Mitt Romney Followed Me Around the Internet

Message Machine Update: A Cameo by Sheldon Adelson

Message Machine: Dinner at Sarah Jessica Parker’s House

How Microsoft and Yahoo Are Selling Politicians Access to You

Help Us Track How Politicians Target You

Donations to Scott Walker Flagged as Potential Fraud

Read the Tax Returns From Karl Rove’s ‘Dark Money’ Group (Donors Still a Mystery)

The Return of CREEP

Where Do FCC Members Stand on Posting TV Stations’ Political Ad Data?

Ron Paul Is Really Serious About Transparency

Campaign Spending Shows Political Ties, Self-Dealing

Three Things We Don’t Know About Obama’s Massive Voter Database

Untangling a Web of FEC Data

A Tangled Web: Who's Making Money From All This Campaign Spending?

Could Corporations Take Tax Breaks on Political 'Dark Money'?

When the GOP Tried to Ban Dark Money

Reverse-Engineering Obama’s Message Machine

Message Machine: "You Probably Don't Know Janet"

CPAC Tips: How to Win Friends and Influence

With Spotlight on Super PAC Dollars, Nonprofits Escape Scrutiny

In the Gusher of Super PACs, Even One Named ‘The Internet’

Our Guide to the Best Coverage on Jon Huntsman and His Record

Our Guide to the Best Coverage on Rick Santorum and His Record

FEC Deadlocks (Again) on Guidance for Big-Money Super PACs

Uncoordinated Coordination: Six Reasons Limits on Super PACs Are Barely Limits at All

Super PAC Man Gobbles Up Regulators' Time, Patience

FEC Data Show Big Jump in Spending by Super PACs and Outside Groups

As Political Groups Push Envelope, FEC Gridlock Gives ‘De Facto Green Light’

Our Guide to the Best Coverage of Herman Cain

Rick Perry v. 'Rick Parry': A Study in Pushing Campaign Finance Frontiers

What Is Obama’s Actual Record on Creating Jobs?

Our Handy Guide to the Best Coverage on Gov. Rick Perry and His Record

Our Guide to the Best Coverage on President Obama and the Economy

Our Guide to the Best Coverage of Newt Gingrich and His Record

Candidates Increasingly Connected to Supposedly Independent PACs

2012 Presidential Campaign Reading Guides

Our Guide to the Best Coverage of Mitt Romney and His Record

Our Guide to the Best Coverage on Rep. Michele Bachmann and Her Record

Our Guide to the Best Coverage of Ron Paul and His Record