Why we won’t know who funds political conventions until right before Election Day

It will likely not be publicly known which groups funded the political conventions this election cycle until less than three weeks before Election Day in November.

Organizers of the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee and the Democratic National Convention set to take place next week in Chicago will not need to make their financial reports public until mid-October. While some donors have made themselves publicly known, the full scope of who and how much went into each convention is still unknown.

Until 2012, political conventions were funded by taxpayer dollars until then-President Barack Obama approved legislation putting the financial burden of conventions on host committees to organize and fundraise for the events every four years. While host committees are nonpartisan and nonprofit organizations, they legally do not need to disclose who funded them until long after the convention has concluded.

The Federal Election Commission requires committees to submit their financial reports at least 20 days before the general election, which means the full list of donors likely will not be available for about two months. Opponents believe the deadline being that close to Election Day fosters a lack of transparency.

“Disclosure rules help keep voters informed and keep corruption at bay,” Alisa Kaplan, executive director of the nonpartisan research and advocacy group Reform for Illinois, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “At least here we’ll eventually learn who donated and how much, but it will likely be too late for voters to really process it before Election Day. That’s why donors and parties want to keep this information secret for as long as possible.”

As for the 2024 DNC, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that BMO, Clayco, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Pfizer, and Lyft, among other companies, all gave to the host committee in some capacity. At the RNC, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Heritage Foundation, General Motors, Turning Point USA, Rumble, the American Beverage Association, and Starbucks all gave to the host committee.

Some have made their support for the conventions public. Chicago-based United Airlines publicized its financial support for the DNC, which is set to take place at the United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks.

“As Chicago’s hometown airline, United is honored to engage in significant events in the city, like the Democratic National Convention at the United Center,” United Airlines spokesman Sam Coleman told the Sun-Times. “We’re also supporting the Republican convention in Milwaukee because both conventions presented an opportunity for our airline to increase our schedules in support of one of our nation’s oldest democratic traditions.”

Similarly, Fiserv, of Fiserv Forum, the home of the Milwaukee Bucks and the 2024 RNC, publicized its financial support for the host committee in Wisconsin.

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The Chicago-based Molson Coors also supported both host committees, with spokesman Adam Collins telling the Sun-Times the beer giant has “a long history of donating to the nonpartisan, nonprofit convention host committees when a party convention is held in our hometowns, and we’re doing so in Milwaukee and Chicago this year.”

Chicago is also expected to absorb some of the costs of hosting the convention. The city had a variety of beautification and revitalizing projects, including opening the new Damen Green Line “L” station near the United Center and “sprucing up” the O’Hare International Airport Blue Line “L” station, according to a city spokesman.