Thursday, November 04, 1999
Kids' political donations at issue
Bill would end gifts by those under 18
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — Individuals younger than 18 would be prohibited from giving money to candidates for state office under legislation Sen. Mark Mallory plans to introduce this week.
The Cincinnati Democrat drafted the bill after The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that children and high school and college students across the country have given $7.4 million to federal candidates since 1991.
In Ohio, students have contributed nearly $48,000 to state candidates since 1995, the year state lawmakers approved legislation that limited individual donations and required campaigns to list the occupations of supporters.
“When you've got a kid giving $1,000 to somebody the same day as their parents, it's clear they're trying to get around the limits,” Mr. Mallory said Wednesday. “If the law says you must be 18 to vote, it only makes sense for you to be 18 to give money.”
Individuals can give $2,500 to a state candidate and $1,000 to a federal candidate in each election. While campaign committees aren't required to ask for or provide the ages of donors, the Enquirer identified children through public records and interviews.
Some of the contributors started giving while still in diapers, including the son of H.C. “Buck” Niehoff, chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party.
Peter Niehoff, now 13, has given $26,275 to federal and state candidates since 1986, according to campaign finance reports. He first showed up as a contributor when he was 5 months old.
State law prohibits donors from giving money to political causes in the name of another person. Buck Niehoff and other parents interviewed said their children gave voluntarily from their own bank accounts.
Many of the student contributions came about the same time their parents gave the maximum allowed under federal and state laws. In each case, the family's money went to candidates favored by the parents.
Although state lawmakers embraced limits on individual contributions four years ago, legislative leaders oppose Mr. Mallory's bill.
“It may be odd, but oddity isn't the question here,” said Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale. “The question is whether children have a constitutional right to contribute their own money to the candidate of their choice.”
Gov. Bob Taft, whose campaign last year reaped more than 40 percent of the money contributed by students to state campaigns since 1995, also opposes restrictions based on age.
“I think children under the age of 18, at least from my own experience, often are interested in politics, even though they may not have a lot of income,” Mr. Taft said last month.
Kiddie-giving is so widespread that federal election officials have urged Congress to ban donations from minors, based on the presumption that youngsters aren't making contributions on their own behalf.
A bipartisan campaign finance reform bill that recently passed the U.S. House included a provision that would have banned all donations to federal candidates and political parties from individuals younger than 18. The bill died in the Senate.
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