User:Yellowdesk/scratch3

Draft
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an campaign organization a prospective candidate for office establishes to comply with reporting and record keeping regulations when initiating efforts to obtain support for an electoral campaign. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.

Federal Campaign law For candidates to federal office, there is no statutory category "exploratory committee;" rather, exploratory" is an informal term used to highlight the prospective candidates's preliminary or pre-candidate activity. Exploratory" is often attatched to the committee name of candidates that are both within or have surpassed the bounds of the "testing the waters" threshold.

There is a threshold of activity if crossed that requires the individuals to register with the Federal Election Commission as a candidate, and to declare their principal committee.

An individual may conduct a variety of testing­the­waters activities. Certain activities, however, indicate that an individual has decided to become a candidate and is no longer merely testing the waters. Under these circumstances, the "testing the waters" exemption would no longer apply. For example, the exemption does not apply if the individual:

-Raises funds in excess of amounts reasonalby required for exploratory activity -amasses funds to be used after candidacy is established -Conducts activities over a protracted period of time, or shortly before the election. -Uses public political advertsing to publicize his or her intention to campaign -Makes or authorizes statements that refer to him or her as a candidate -Seeks ballot access 11 CFR 100.72.(b) and 100131(b)

Ron Elving adeptly describes the use of exploratory committees in his article, Declaring for President is a Dance of Seven Veils, which aired on National Public Radio on December 5, 2006. He writes:

The exploratory committee has been around for decades, and technically it creates a legal shell for a candidate who expects to spend more than $5,000 while contemplating an actual run. Under the rules, exploratory money may be raised without the full disclosure of sources required of true candidates. Only when the candidate drops the exploratory label does the full responsibility of transparency apply.

Candidates use an exploratory committee as not only a transitional phase for their bookkeeping but as an extra claim on media attention. Some of the most skillful handlers like to leak word that their candidate is testing the waters, then leak word that he or she is thinking about forming an exploratory committee. Additional "news" can be made when the same candidate actually forms such a committee and registers with the Federal Election Commission. Yet a fourth round of attention may be generated when the word exploratory gets dropped from the committee filing.