McCain Campaign Misleads on Kentucky Ballot Application
Facing questions about whether the campaign leveraged eligibility for public matching funds to gain access to the ballot in several states, the McCain campaign yesterday sunk to a new low. For days the McCain campaign has been playing fast and loose with the facts surrounding McCain's FEC violations. On a call with reporters yesterday, the McCain campaign erroneously stated that the campaign was getting on the Kentucky ballot by collecting signatures. [Wall Street Journal, 2/27/08]
The Democratic National Committee today released documents that show the McCain campaign did not file for the Kentucky ballot by collecting signatures, but by demonstrating that he had qualified for the ballot in at least 20 other states. One of the states the campaign cited was Delaware. As the DNC revealed yesterday, McCain qualified for the Delaware ballot by citing the FEC's approval of his application for matching funds, thereby avoiding the need to collect signatures.
"Not only does John McCain think that he can violate the law by leveraging public funds for private fundraising, but his campaign is clearly willing to mislead in order to cover their tracks," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "How can the American people trust John McCain when he is unwilling to admit he's wrong and follow the law?"
Since the DNC filed its complaint with the FEC on Monday, the McCain campaign has tried to mislead the public by claiming they were withdrawing from the matching funds program in the same way the Dean campaign did in 2003. In fact, unlike McCain, the Dean campaign received FEC approval for withdrawing from the system. McCain's campaign has also refused to admit that the FEC's approval of his application for matching funds helped the campaign secure a private loan and get on the ballot in some states, even though their ballot applications clearly demonstrate that qualifying for matching funds helped them avoid signature collection requirements in Ohio and Delaware.
To view John McCain's application for the Kentucky ballot, click here: democrats.org
The McCain campaign's application for the Delaware ballot, which relies on his qualification for matching funds, is available on the DNC website at: democrats.org
To view McCain's application for the Ohio ballot, click here:
• democrats.org
• democrats.org
• democrats.org
The FEC's December 2003 letter to the Dean campaign approving his request to withdraw from the matching funds program can be viewed here: democrats.org
John McCain has refused to acknowledge that the FEC has not approved his request to withdraw from the matching funds program.
democrats.org |
