Dark pattern disclosure
Definition
Technically legal reporting tactics that comply with the letter of campaign finance disclosure law while defeating its purpose, such as timing spending to fall just after a reporting deadline, or structuring donor chains so each filer discloses only another opaque entity rather than the true source.
Why it matters
Disclosure rules assume voters will see who is funding a message before they vote. Groups that time spending around reporting windows, or that disclose only contributions received from other dark money groups, can satisfy the disclosure requirement on paper while keeping the real funding source hidden until after the election, when the information can no longer inform anyone's vote.
Seen in the wild
The Campaign Legal Center documented "Mountain Families PAC," which spent $1.3 million on ads before a 2018 election but used FEC reporting-calendar timing to avoid disclosing its funding sources until after voters had already cast ballots, a tactic CLC labeled part of a broader pattern of "dodging disclosure" through reporting-schedule gaps.1