Following the Money: Campaign Finance Disclosure in India and the United States

Abstract

Abstract The authors compare the legal and administrative challenges of campaign finance disclosure regimes in the United States and the Republic of India. While the two countries' campaign finance laws differ markedly, they share the goal of timely and accurate disclosure of campaigns' financial activities. However, the two countries have encountered different obstacles to the realization of this goal. The authors discuss the responses to these obstacles, and examine how the different approaches taken by the United States and India reflect each country's distinct legal culture, broader treatment of election issues, and prior experience with campaign finance regulation.