Early Electoral Reform in the United States

A federal law enacted in 1925 ordered political committees to file with the House of Representatives sworn statements identifying all contributors of $100 or more, all persons receiving $10 or more from the moneys collected by the committees, and the purposes for which the disbursements were made. Candidates for the Congress of the United States were required to submit itemized accounts of contributions made to their campaign expenses. Limits were placed on the amounts candidates were allowed to expend in campaigning. In 1939 Congress passed the Hatch Act, which prohibits certain types of political activity on the part of federal employees.