Skirting the prohibition on coordinating with big money super PACs has become increasingly commonplace for campaigns in recent years. One of the more popular forms is called “redboxing,” which some campaign ethics experts consider to be illegal, and others consider to be an unfortunate loophole in current law.

Either way, federal and state law should explicitly ban redboxing, which undermines the purpose of the anti-coordination law.

The county executive campaign of Sara Innamorato provides a perfect example of the practice. At the bottom of the homepage of Ms. Innamorato’s website is a curious link labeled “on this race.” Click it, and the user is transported to a page designed solely for the use of super PAC consultants.

The text reads, in part, “Democratic voters over the age of 50 need to read in their mailboxes that...” followed by a charge that her opponent, Joe Rockey, donated to elected officials who would “bankrupt” Social Security — a reference to former U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. These are explicit instructions not only about messaging, but about to whom the message should be directed, and how — by mail.

Later, WFP National PAC, a super PAC associated with the New York-based Working Families Party, sent a mailer that used language and footnotes from Ms. Innamorato’s website.

Super PACs, which specialize in so-called “independent expenditures,” came into vogue after the Supreme Court struck down limits on corporate campaign donations in its Citizens United decision. While federal limits on donations to candidates’ own campaigns check the influence of big money, super PACs can accept unlimited donations from a variety of sources, including corporations.

To ensure these massive pots of money don’t become campaigns-by-another-name, super PAC spending must be “independent,” which means the committees cannot coordinate messaging or strategy with campaigns.

In Allegheny County, which currently lacks campaign donation limits (a new law that mimics federal limits will go into effect after this election), the benefits of using independent-expenditure super PACs are somewhat lessened. But in the case of Ms. Innamorato’s campaign, which has struggled to raise sufficient funds locally, super PACs give her access to deep-pocketed national groups with their own brands and political infrastructure.

Redboxing — a name that comes from the bright red boxes often placed around the instructions — ensures those national organizations know how to message in this local race. In other words, the Innamorato campaign is helping the Working Families Party to act as an arm of the campaign itself, which is exactly what the prohibition on coordination is meant to prevent.

State and federal elections officials have generally ignored these activities, due to either generous interpretations of the coordination law or a lack of resources to police that law. It’s time for that to stop: Redboxing should be made explicitly illegal, and elections offices need to be given the resources to do their jobs.

Because right now, campaigns like Ms. Innamorato’s are openly mocking the campaign finance system.

First Published: October 31, 2023, 9:30 a.m.