https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/13/actblue-donations-half-unemployed-givers-analysis-/
Nearly half of 2019 donations to ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s biggest fundraising platform, were made by people who listed themselves as unemployed, raising red flags about whether the online processor is being used for foreign or otherwise illegal contributions.
An analysis of Federal Election Commission data by the conservative Take Back Action Fund found that 2.8 million ActBlue transactions in 2019, or 47.4%, were made by donors who identified themselves as unemployed or listed no employer.
That figure has risen to 50.1% in the first eight months of 2020, said Take Back president John Pudner, who has for years sounded the alarm about the potential for foreign influence on ActBlue over what he described as its lax online credit-card security measures.
“Our biggest concern is foreign money. Do you really believe that half of the people who are giving money through ActBlue don’t have a job?” Mr. Pudner told the Washington Times. “To me, that just seems absurd.”
His concern is that illegal contributions could be made using prepaid gift cards and pairing them with either fake names and addresses or the stolen identities of real voters. The FEC provides an additional layer of security by requiring donors to list their employers, but there is no such check on those who identify themselves as unemployed.