POWERBACK

An Introduction, and a Bit of Context

I'm just a person who's gotten pulled deeper into the campaign finance rabbit hole from becoming increasingly disillusioned with our democratic process, election after election after election. I'm not a politician, I don't have a law degree or any deep-pockets behind me, and there's no engineering team here. I just spent years grinding through tutorials, troubleshooting late and into the mornings, learning and building this from scratch.

Why We're Seeking Feedback Now

As of June 2025, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has only three active commissioners, which is one short of the four required for a quorum. Without a quorum, the FEC cannot issue advisory opinions or take formal actions on new campaign finance models like POWERBACK. That's why I'm proactively seeking informal guidance from FEC staff and Commissioners. We all believe in transparency, good faith, and building within the law, even in moments of institutional gridlock. By sharing my approach early, we're ensuring that the platform's structure respects both the letter and the spirit of campaign finance law from day one.

How POWERBACK Works

1. Choose a Candidate: Select a congressional candidate you wish to support.
2. Set a Legislative Trigger: Define a specific legislative action (e.g., a floor vote on a particular bill) that must occur for your contribution to be disbursed.
3. Secure Your Contribution: Your funds are held in a dedicated account until the condition is met.
4. Outcome-Based Disbursement: If the condition is fulfilled, your contribution is released to the candidate. If not, it's redirected according to your predefined instructions.

Once submitted, your contribution's conditions are locked in, ensuring operation solely on the initial directive, not subsequent influence or negotiation.

Legal Framework

Before launch, we're seeking an FEC advisory opinion to ensure full compliance with campaign finance law. Specifically, we're asking whether:

1. POWERBACK qualifies as a permissible conduit under 11 C.F.R. § 110.6 (available here);
2. Our approach to holding and disbursing funds aligns with existing legal frameworks.

This platform is built to align with precedents including AO 2014-19, AO 2019-01, and AO 2023-11.

What's Next

Upon reaching quorum, the FEC has up to 60 days to respond to our advisory opinion request. Once issued, the opinion will be published publicly, and we'll post updates at powerback.us.

My hope is that POWERBACK demonstrates how thoughtful legal design and transparent technology can expand the tools available for public engagement, without compromising integrity or compliance.

Thanks for reading.

- Jonathan Alpart
Founder, POWERBACK