Concerns Raised Over ActBlue Donations Linked to Elderly Woman
An 88-year-old widow from Michigan expressed her disbelief on Wednesday regarding federal records, which claim she made over $150,000 in donations through ActBlue over five years. Elizabeth Waffles from Milan stated that these records do not accurately reflect her contributions.
In a report by journalist Charlie LeDuff, Waffles was cited saying she made dozens of small donations that added up to about 14,696 entries in federal filings, translating to roughly eight donations a day at an average of $9.18 each.
LeDuff took the documents home, and Waffles found the figures astonishing. “150,000? We simply don’t have that kind of money,” she remarked.
The retiree, who moved into a mobile home two years ago after losing her house to a fire, lives on a modest pension and drives an old pickup truck. She doesn’t have a computer, and her internet access can be unreliable.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data compiled by Bob Cushman, the filings indicated that Waffles made donations from her trailer and from a rented apartment, sometimes on the same day. The records also show donations to candidates out of state whom she has never heard of.
“This is very unusual,” Waffles observed while reviewing the documents. “I think that’s wrong, and I think something is wrong.”
Among the disputed donations are 47 contributions to Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Socialist running in the upcoming Michigan Senate primary on August 4. El-Sayed’s campaign claims he’s the state’s leading ActBlue fundraiser, raising significantly more than Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.). A recent poll indicated that he was ahead of Stevens by about seven points.
Comments online highlighted issues with the findings, with some users noting that the platform seemed to have allocated substantial funds to elderly individuals who likely did not make these donations. “Where is this money really coming from?” one user questioned, calling for an investigation.
This revelation follows a series of events where ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace Jones invoked her Fifth Amendment rights during a House Administration Committee session, declining to answer inquiries about foreign donations and the platform’s legal team resignation. Representatives have since threatened contempt against the platform for failing to provide requested documents.
Similar reports emerged earlier this year, where senior Democratic lawmakers indicated that numerous donations had been attributed to them without their consent. Rep. Steil mentioned that he shared findings with several state attorneys general and remained willing to collaborate with law enforcement on the issues.
