This year, with Covid-19 complicating the electoral process, it’s important to know the different ways you can vote, and to create a plan to make your vote count. And before you head to the polls (or mail in your ballot), it’s important to gather as much information as possible. 

Below, you can find particulars on the major candidates’ views on business and the economy, how you can make campaign donations, and most importantly, how to vote in a year when mail-in voting is likely to take center stage. 

Check out this guide, and remember to register to vote if you haven’t done so already.

The post Stash’s Guide to the 2020 Election appeared first on Stash Learn.

The political battle between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is projected to be the costliest presidential election in U.S. history. Add in several high-profile Congressional races and a host of high-ranking state seats and the estimated spending for this 2020 election cycle is nearly $2.2 billion.

Political candidates are leaning heavily on your money to win their seats. But what’s the best way to donate to your candidate of choice? Does your donation actually make a difference in their campaign? And how are they spending all that money?

“For this particular presidential race, I think a lot of money is going to be spent on getting out the vote,” said Sarah Bryner, director of research and strategy at the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington D.C. “Getting their people motivated to get to the polls is probably the most significant activity that the campaigns will be doing.”

To date, Trump and Biden have raised nearly $1 billion collectively.  Trump has raised $505.5 million and spent $376.9 million. Biden has raised $479.2 million and spent $343.6 million.

Their financial focus is largely on the so-called swing states, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida where every vote counts toward what could be a slim victory.

They are trying to turn campaign donations into votes largely through media advertising and, in the COVID-19 era, fewer public appearances than are typical for a presidential election year.

Trump, as an incumbent president, is also required to use campaign money to reimburse taxpayers for use of Air Force One or security details that he uses while on the campaign trail.

“All of the presidential candidates, the incumbent presidents have to do that,” Bryner said, including Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. “That’s a pretty significant expense.” 

How Much You Can Donate to Your Favorite Candidate

Smaller, individual donations are highly coveted by candidates in all races, Bryner, said, because they allow the campaigns to boast that they are working for and supported by the people. In the Congressional arena, she added, Democratic incumbents Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida have leaned particularly hard on their prowess for collecting individual donations.

About 55 percent of Trump campaign money has come from small individual donations of less than $200, compared to 42 percent for Biden.

But there are rules and regulations for how much one person can donate. The Federal Election Commission sets limits on individual political donations that are adjusted each year for inflation. 

“Campaign donation limits are in place to prevent corruption, [such as] a donor giving a million dollars to a candidate and the candidate being so beholden to them as to grant favors once in office,” Bryner explained.

This year’s contribution limits for individuals include $2,800 to a candidate’s committee or a combined $10,000 for state, district or local party committees. The FEC also maintains a database of people who donate more than $200 per individual campaign or PAC, including their name, location, employer, how much they have donated and who has received their donations.

So while you may throw all your support behind a particular candidate, you need to keep tabs on your political spending. Penalties for willfully ignoring federal campaign finance limits can include hefty fines and even jail time. 

Where You Can Donate to Your Favorite Candidate

If you want to donate directly to your candidate of choice, your best and safest bet is to go directly to their website.

Both  Donald Trump and Joe Biden have official campaign websites where you can purchase merchandise and make a political donation. But there are many other ways to make your dollars count. 

You may choose to donate to a House or Senate race or a smaller race closer to home. Every candidate, no matter how big or how small their campaign, should have an official site where you can donate. You could also donate to a race outside of your district, which you may want to do for high-profile or high-stakes races.

Knowing who the players are and how they are polling can help you figure out how your money could make a difference.

“A candidate might be in a district that’s pretty safe for the incumbent and be so far behind in the fundraising game that it’s really unlikely they’re going to win. On the one hand you want to support that person because you believe in them, but then, on the other hand, you could allocate that money to someone in a closer contest,” Bryner saud. “Generally, a closer contest, your dollar is going to go a little bit farther.”

How to Donate to a Cause or a Committee

If you’d rather donate to a cause, instead of than a candidate, you could donate to a politician action committee or a PAC. A PAC is an organization that uses money to influence or lobby for legislation that benefits that particular group. 

If you are passionate about environmental causes, you may choose to donate to Sierra Club Political Committee or the League of Conservation Voters, which advocate on behalf of candidates and legislation that are pro-environment. 

There are thousands of possible options for cause-related PACs, from public education to medical advocacy to gun rights or gun control to religious or atheist communities to organizations based on race and ethnicity.

You can also donate to PACs that are related to your occupation.

“If you work for a business or if you are in a profession, like you are a dentist, your profession or your business likely has a PAC affiliated with it that you might be able to donate to,” said Bryner, noting that realtors have one of the biggest PACs in the country. “These are oftentimes non-partisan or are bi partisan.”

You can also donate directly to your political party. The Democrat National Committee and the Republican National Committee, as well as third-party organizations such as the Libertarian National Committee and the Green Party, all accept donations and will send your money to the candidates they feel need the most help to win a race or a particular swing state.

That could mean high profile Senate or Congressional races, swing states in the presidential election or even gubernatorial elections.

Make Sure Your Donation Dollars are Safe

When donating, whether to a candidate or a PAC, or a local or nationwide race, make sure you are donating to the actual campaign and not a fraudulent site.

Always use a credit card and never send cash, Bryner cautioned. Also be wary of making political donations via social media as they can be harder to verify and may look strikingly similar to a candidate’s actual donation ads.

“I wouldn’t go through a social media platform because there’s a lot of manipulative Facebook sites that…are really random dudes in Wisconsin,” Bryner said. “So just be careful with that.” 

And while authentic donation sites may ask for your name, your location and your political party affiliation, they will not ask for your social security number or personal financial information.

Your Political Donation is Not a Tax Write Off

While you can deduct a certain amount of non-profit or charity donations on your taxes, donations to political candidates or PACs do not count as approved write offs.¹

An IRS-approved deduction is a donation made to a charitable or non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) designation. Political committees are designated as 501(c)(4) organizations and are not tax deductible for individuals. 

Make Sure You Are Registered to Vote!

While candidates rely on campaign contributions to win their election, there’s something they want more than your money — your vote.

You need to register to vote before you head to the polls. You can visit your local Board of Elections or register to vote at Vote.org.

The post Want to Donate to a Presidential Candidate? Here’s What to Know appeared first on Stash Learn.

If you’re confused, don’t be. Here’s a breakdown of what’s going on with voting around the country. 

REGISTERING TO VOTE

If you aren’t already registered to vote, each state requires you to register by a rolling set of dates in October. You can find your state’s exact date on this list. Most states have multiple options for registration, such as in-person, by mail, and online. It’s important to check your particular state’s rules so you don’t miss a deadline. 

What is absentee voting, and how is it different from mail-in voting? 

In practice, there isn’t much of a difference. Absentee voting encompasses any voter who cannot be at the polls. Most states include chronic or severe illness, citizens overseas, poll workers, and those who are traveling as valid reasons to request an absentee ballot. This year, Covid-19 concerns count as a valid reason to request an absentee ballot in 44 states and Washington D.C. (See below.) 

Absentee ballots are almost always mailed in. However, an absentee ballot can also be hand-delivered to your local board of elections, or a polling place. Mail-in ballots, on the other hand, are always—ahem—mailed in. A small number of states allow you to vote by mail even if you don’t have an absentee excuse (for that list, also see below). So: most absentee ballots are also mailed in. And—because only a small number of states allow for mail-in voting without an absentee excuse —most mail-in ballots are also absentee. 

VOTING

This is where things can get confusing, since different states have different rules.

Mail-in ballots sent automatically

A handful of states and one district  will automatically mail paper ballots to all registered voters. Some of these are the “universal mail-in” states that have conducted elections this way for years. Others, like California, New Jersey, and Vermont are automatically mailing ballots in response to the pandemic. 

Here’s the full list: 

Washington

Oregon

California

Utah

Nevada

Colorado 

New Jersey

Hawaii

Washington D.C.

Vermont

Application for mail-in ballots necessary

Another 35 states will allow you to cite the pandemic as a valid reason to vote absentee by mail, but you need to apply for your ballot. Some of these states may automatically send you an application to vote absentee. In the other states, you must request your absentee ballot either online or by mail. (Here’s where you can do that. And here is a list of deadlines by state to request your ballot. The deadlines begin Oct. 9. )

Pandemic-related absentee ballots are permitted in the following states:

Alabama 

Arkansas

Alaska

Arizona

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan 

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

North Carolina

North Dakota

New Hampshire 

New Mexico

New York

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Dakota

Virginia

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

States that require a non-pandemic excuse to vote absentee

Finally, six states will not allow absentee voting due to the pandemic. That means that if you’re not traveling and have no other valid excuse to vote absentee (see above), you must vote in-person. 

The states that are not allowing mail-in voting because of the pandemic are: 

Texas

Louisiana

Mississippi

South Carolina

Indiana 

Tennessee

Is voting by mail safe? Will my vote be counted? 

There’s been a lot of speculation that mail-in ballots will not be counted, and for good reason. Thirty-five states will allow you to request a ballot so close to the voting deadline that the U.S. Post Office may not be able to return the ballot in time, according to The New York Times.  If you live in one of the ten regions that are sending out ballots automatically, or in one of the states that won’t send out ballots close to the deadline (Maryland, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Iowa or Alaska), you can rest easy that your vote will be counted if you send your ballot in on time.

However, you can ensure that your mail-in vote will be counted no matter where you live by requesting your ballot early and sending it back early. To be safe, you should allow the ballot one week to arrive and one week to be delivered. Not all ballots must be delivered by Nov. 3 to be counted. Again, that varies by state. This list shows which states require a postmarked ballot by Nov. 2 or 3, as well as acceptable delivery dates for each state.  

What is voting early, and should I do it? 

Roughly two thirds of states allow you to vote up to 45 days early by voting in person. But remember, voting by mail is also voting early. Once you’re confident in your decision, you should vote as soon as you can to make sure your ballot is counted on time. As mentioned above, voting by mail too close to the deadline could result in your vote not being counted in some states.

The post Here’s How to Vote in All 50 States in 2020 appeared first on Stash Learn.

A lot depends on your gender and age group, according to a recent financial outlook survey by Stash,* which asked more than 12,000 customers in March, 2020, how their financial situations might have changed since President Trump took office.

The survey found that as Trump’s first term comes to an end, and as the 2020 election approaches, users are split over how the administration’s policies have affected their personal finances. 

The survey also found that the coronavirus known as Covid-19, which has rocked the global economy, has also affected how customers are spending their money. The coronavirus and its impact on Americans’ health and personal finance could color the upcoming presidential election. 

Findings from the survey

More than a third of all users said their financial situations had improved since President Trump took office, while 22% said their situation had worsened. Forty-three percent of users said that their situation remained unchanged.

However, men surveyed said their finances had improved more than women did. More than 40% of men responded that their financial situation is better than it was before the Trump administration took office, while only 25% of women responded that way.

The survey also found that 25% of baby boomers, between the ages of 56 and 74, said their financial situation has worsened over the course of Trump’s first term. One quarter of baby Boomers who reported that their situation had gotten better attributed the improvement to tax reform, compared to just 12% of millennials. While less than a quarter of Gen Z, defined as those between the ages of 18 and 24, said their financial situation had deteriorated, more than a quarter of this age group attributed it to lack of wage growth, while 17% said it was because of high housing costs.

There were also differences in results according to household income and race. Users who earn $50,000 or less in household income were more likely to report that their financial situation had worsened during Trump’s presidency by eight percentage points. Hispanic and African American users were more likely to respond that way by seven percentage points.

Background on current economic policies

Over half of the respondents who said that their situation had improved said the change was due to wage growth, while 15% attributed it to tax reform from 2017. Of the 22% who said their situation has worsened, 30% attributed that change to lack of wage growth and almost 20% attributed it to tax reform.

In 2017, Trump presided over the biggest tax cut in a generation, which reduced the top ordinary income rate to 37% from 39%, doubled the standard deduction for ordinary taxpayers, and slashed corporate tax rates. Despite wage increases and 50-year low unemployment during Trump’s first term, unemployment rose to its highest level since the Great Depression in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Looking ahead to the election 

In fact, the pandemic is already affecting the way some Americans are spending their money. Nearly 40% of survey respondents said that they are spending less money in response to the pandemic than they were before. (Slightly more women—37%— said they’ve been spending less due to Covid-19, compared to 34% of men.

As American leadership continues to react to the pandemic and the financial turmoil it’s causing, the coronavirus could become an important part of the upcoming general election. Heading into an election season in the middle of a pandemic, 30% of respondents said they felt fearful about their financial situations, while 30% said they felt hopeful. Forty percent said they felt neutral. 

While no one can say with certainty what will happen during the pandemic or the election, you can do your best to maintain your financial health by budgeting, saving, and investing small amounts regularly for the short-term and the long-term.

The post How Stashers Feel About Their Finances Going Into Election 2020 appeared first on Stash Learn.