(The Center Square) – Democrat political donation platform ActBlue has implemented updated security policies that adequately prevent fraudulent transactions, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., announced Wednesday.
A Republican-led investigation into ActBlue has been going on since 2023, when Steil launched a probe into the organization’s donor verification methods over concerns that it was allowing foreign and fraudulent contributions to happen on its website.
The findings, obtained by a subpoena, showed that as of September 2024, ActBlue has implemented updated policies to “automatically reject donations that use foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, are from high-risk/sanctioned countries, and have the highest level of risk as determined,” by its anti-fraud service provider, Sift.
Steil said the subpoena results did confirm that ActBlue still accepted “concerning payment methods” through July, a period when Democrats raised a record number of campaign donations before the current safeguards were implemented.
“While this is a positive step forward, there is still more work to be done to ensure our campaign finance system is fully protected from fraud and unlawful foreign interference,” Steil stated. “It is also critical that we enact lasting reforms to prevent illicit contributions in future election cycles. Advancing legislation like the SHIELD Act will permanently close these vulnerable loopholes and safeguard the integrity of our campaign finance system.”
Steil’s Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations Act, or SHIELD Act, would prohibit political campaigns from accepting contributions from gift cards or other prepaid credit cards, and require them to obtain and verify the CVV of all online credit and debit donations. It would also require political campaigns to get the affirmative consent of donors before they make a recurring contribution.
Responding to a request for comment, ActBlue referred The Center Square to a blog post defending its fraud prevention practices and condemning what it calls “efforts to spread disinformation.”
“Our security measures help confirm the identity of donors, root out potential unlawful foreign contributions, protect donors from financial fraud, and flag potentially fraudulent activity,” the organization said. “ActBlue holds itself to the highest legal and ethical standards, and all contributions made through ActBlue are disclosed in full compliance with federal, state, and local laws.”
Howver, anecdotal reports have backed up allegations of ActBlue being used illicitly.