Washington – Anyone who has struggled with split ends or unruly hair knows who Vidal Sassoon is. The Barack Obama campaign had to ask.
The iconic hairstylist is among hundreds of political donors who provided incomplete information with their contributions to presidential candidates during the first three months of this year.
Of the $130 million raised in the first quarter, the campaigns collected $13 million from donors who failed to list their occupations and their employers as required by law, according to an analysis of campaign records by The Associated Press.
The campaigns are now obligated to ask, though they are not required to obtain the information. Under Federal Election Commission rules, they have 30 days to employ their “best efforts” to secure complete reports.
Under federal law, any donor who contributes more than $200 must supply his or her name, address, occupation and employer. Overall, campaign-finance officials and watchdog organizations say, campaign-finance reporting is remarkably complete, with about 90 percent of reports containing all the required information.
On Thursday, the FEC expanded that “best efforts” standard to other campaign reporting requirements, including the accuracy of the financial information and the timeliness of financial reports.
In this presidential cycle, Obama, the Democratic senator from Illinois, had the highest incidence of incomplete reports in the first quarter. Sassoon and his wife, Rhonda, who each gave $2,300, were two of them. Overall, about $3.7 million in Obama donations lacked a donor’s occupation and employer. Obama raised $25 million in the first quarter.
Sometimes, even those who fill in the appropriate blanks are not particularly forthcoming. One Obama donor from Atlanta announced his occupation as “human being.” He gave $250 and listed himself as not employed.
Democrat John Edwards, who raised $14 million in the quarter, reported $1.6 million in contributions from donors who provided incomplete information. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who raised $26 million in the quarter, had $2 million.
Among leading Republicans, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney each reported that they collected $1.4 million from donors with incomplete data.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, who sought the Republican nomination in 2000, had among the most complete reports of all presidential candidates.
Employer and occupation data are important factors in identifying donors. Journalists, watchdog groups and rival campaigns use the data to identify industry support for different candidates, to recognize fundraising patterns and to help determine the motivations behind some political contributions.
