HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) \u2014 Thousands of donors to Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s (D) reelection campaign mean thousands of pages in disclosure forms.<\/p>\n
One that caught our eye \u2014 $1 million from San Francisco tech magnate Christian Larsen. Voters can see who he is and how much he gave, which means the system is working. But it doesn\u2019t always work that way.<\/p>\n
Close<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Watch for us in your inbox.<\/p>\n Subscribe Now<\/p>\n Donors to both parties often influence elections through dark money. Here\u2019s how it works: Rich donor contributes to a social welfare nonprofit, which then gives to a super PAC, which spends money advocating for or against politicians. When the super PAC fills out its disclosure form, it reports the nonprofit, but it doesn\u2019t identify the actual donors.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can be some fat cat sitting on some beach, funnel that money right in unlimited,\u201d said Rep. Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia). \u201cWe don\u2019t even know who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n Solomon called it a two-step shell game that state lawmakers won\u2019t eliminate. He\u2019s pushing two pieces of campaign finance reform legislation \u2014 one that limits how much an individual can donate and another that would require more transparency around who is making a donation.<\/p>\n Republican political consultant Chris Nicholas agreed that state disclosure rules are too lax and should be tougher, but he also said he understands wanting anonymity.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because you run a big company doesn\u2019t mean you give up your First Amendment rights to be a liberal or conservative,\u201d Nicholas said. \u201cSo, this is a way for people like that to scratch their itch and not have it come back and harm their day job.\u201d<\/p>\n