Supreme Court Decision Boosts Voter Verification

Ban on foreign donations drives campaigns, political parties to verify U.S. citizenship

Online Donations Leader, Aristotle, Uniquely Positioned to Meet Requirements

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Jan 12, 2012, 04:52 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aristotle International, a leading non-partisan political data and compliance technology provider got a boost this week when the Supreme Court, in a terse four word ruling, upheld a lower court decision to ban political contributions to candidates for public office and political organizations by foreign nationals. The decision means that foreign nationals, other than lawful permanent residents, are completely banned from donating to candidates or parties, or making independent expenditures in federal, state or local elections.

Aristotle's patent-pending data mining technology employs powerful software and algorithms and a highly accurate, up-to-date voter's list to enable registered political committees and their treasurers to comply with complex state and federal campaign disclosure reporting requirements. The company anticipated such a ruling when it filed for a patent nearly two years ago covering the integrated use of voter and contribution records for compliance and fundraising purposes. The patent application, prepared by DLA Piper, is entitled: Integration of Voter and Contributor Data into Political Software and Compliance Systems for Purposes of Solicitation, Compliance, Vetting and Calls to Action.

When a contribution is made, on line or in person, Aristotle's technology is used to instantly vet the donors against the company's nationwide registered voter list and other files to confirm the donor is a U.S. citizen and has not exceed the personal contribution limits. Campaign treasurers utilizing Aristotle are provided real time information that enables them to flag suspect contributions, contact the donor and, if necessary, return or reject the contribution as required by the Federal Election Commission.

"At a time when election rules are in flux, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that the ban on foreign money in federal, state and local elections remains in place," said former FEC Chairman and Aristotle Senior Vice President of Compliance Services David Mason. "This makes it even more important than ever for campaigns and political committees to screen for non-citizen donors."

"The Aristotle system also allows campaigns to integrate fundraising and voter ID by identifying whether and where contributors are registered to vote," added Mason.

Aristotle's platform incorporates detailed state contributor and voter lists with highly accurate consumer databases to illuminate exactly how much a donor has given, how much they can give, and to suggest the maximum they might agree to contribute where allowed by law. This can significantly aid the campaign in satisfying 'best efforts' provisions that are required of all federal political committee treasurers.

"Campaigns have ten days to decline to take a contribution and return the amount, without having to report it to the FEC," said Aristotle CEO John Aristotle Phillips. "If someone is a convicted sex offender, it's usually a no-brainer to decline the donation. If someone giving money cannot be instantly confirmed as a registered U.S. voter, this should at least raise a flag for greater scrutiny. If they turn out not to be a U.S. citizen or a green-card holder, it's definitely illegal. If the database check reveals they are a convicted felon, it may not be a matter of legality, but you might want to think twice before taking the money."

About Aristotle

For more than 25 years, every occupant of the White House — Democrat and Republican — has used Aristotle products and/or services, in addition to many U.S. Senators, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Democratic and Republican state party organizations. The company's technology was featured Monday, January 9, 20112 on BBC and PBS in correspondent Katty Kay's reporting on the 2012 presidential election contests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16467412

SOURCE Aristotle