Obama Got $40K From Fake People

Barack Obama received some $40,000 from obviously fictitious donors, the New York Times reports. After poring over both candidates’ records, the Times found some 3,000 donations to Obama from more than a dozen people with obviously falsified names —like “Test Person” from “Some Place, UT.” McCain had such donors as well, but far fewer than Obama.

That discrepancy could be explained by Obama’s far larger overall donor roll. The $40,000 represents only a tiny fraction of Obama’s record $450 million haul. But the donations are leading to calls for greater transparency on small donations; FEC rules don’t require itemized listing of donors who’ve given less than $200. “I think the candidates need to be clearer about the vetting systems they’re using,” said a director at the Campaign Finance Institute. (More Barack Obama stories.)