united-states constitutional-law us-constitution lawyer judge
Can political parties becoming public?
<p>Can political parties become public?</p>
<p>For example, could the Democrat and Republican parties in the US carry out initial public offerings (IPOs), listing shares on NASDAQ and NYSE?</p>

<h2>not in <a href="/questions/tagged/germany" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-germany-tooltip-container">germany</a></h2>
<p>Germany has laws about founding, operating and financing political parties, the <a href="https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/verfassung/parteienrecht/informationen-zur-parteigruendung/informationen-zur-parteigruendung-node.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Parteiengesetz</a> which demands certain organisatorial structures, and the <a href="https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/verfassung/parteienrecht/parteienfinanzierung/parteienfinanzierung.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Parteifinanzierungsgesetz</a>, which is very explicit about how they can finance themselves and what a party needs to report. The only allowed gains are property proceeds (like from owning property or selling goods), membership fees, gifts to the party, and state sponsorship. Also, non-citizens are not allowed to give to a party unlimitedly. The parties also are also obligated under the basic law to report all financing they get, down to the cent. Their organisation form is strictly limited:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Parteien sind frei gebildete <strong>Personenvereinigungen</strong> im Sinne des Artikels 9 Absatz 1 GG, die sich auf der Basis des privaten Rechts nach den <strong>vereinsrechtlichen Regelungen des Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuches</strong> (§§ 21 bis 79 Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch - BGB) gründen. Sie sind in der Regel nicht rechtsfähige Vereine</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This precludes them from being Aktiengesellschaften: they have to be <em>organizations of people</em> (Personenvereinigungen) that follow the BGB, and thus are not allowed to organize as an AG under the <a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aktg/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Aktiengesetz</a>, which demands that an AG to not be an organization of people. So, a party can't be a stock company, and selling stock in a political party in Germany is not allowed under the framework and is thus neither possible nor legal.</p>

<h2>Political parties <em>are</em> public</h2>
<p>They just aren’t public <em>companies</em>.</p>
<p>Their organisational structure is similar to clubs - the are operated by and for the benefit of their members and, subject to their rules,  they are open for anyone to join.</p>

<p>In the US, most elected officials are state or local officials, and even elections for federal officials (representative in Congress, senator, and president) are conducted mostly under state law (with a few federal laws as well). Accordingly most regulation of political parties is done at the state level. As an example, the Vermont Secretary of State provides a <a href="https://sos.vermont.gov/elections/election-info-resources/parties/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">web page</a> with an overview of political parties.</p>
<p>In short, political parties must be organized in accordance with state law. Public notices must be provided informing the public about meetings of political parties so they can attend the meetings. Certain results of party meetings must be reported to the state. Funds used for political campaigns are heavily regulated.</p>
