# MSG-267 — A political donation programme must confirm intent and certify eligibility

> A message-originated political contribution must be answered with a message confirming the contributor's intent to give and carrying the eligibility certification — at least 18, own funds, not a foreign national, not a federal contractor.

- **Rule ID:** MSG-267
- **Layer:** Message content (`MESSAGE_CONTENT`)
- **Checks:** `political donation MT body`
- **Severity:** BLOCKING — Breaking this rule gets the submission rejected outright.
- **When it bites:** Gates approval — get this wrong and registration is refused
- **How it is detected:** AI judgement over the submitted form
- **Fix type:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** CTIA
- **Applies:** Applies when the use case is POLITICAL.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/message-content/msg-267/

## Why this rule exists

Campaign-finance law puts the burden of establishing that a contribution is lawful on the committee receiving it, and a text has none of the surrounding form a web donation page would carry. The reply is where the certification has to live, because it is the only place the contributor can see it before the charge completes. Committees miss it because the message-originated flow feels like a confirmation receipt rather than a legal instrument, so they write it as one — and a receipt that does not ask the contributor to affirm anything leaves the committee unable to show the contribution was lawful.

## How to fix it

Write the reply to the donation keyword so it does two things in order: restate the amount and ask the contributor to confirm they intend to give it, then set out the four eligibility statements they are certifying by confirming. Done when the reply contains a confirmation step the contributor must answer and all four certifications are legible in the same message.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Riverside Shelter Action Fund: reply YES to confirm your $25 contribution. By replying YES you certify that you are at least 18, a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, using your own funds, and not a federal contractor. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
```

## Common mistakes

- Putting the certification behind a link does not satisfy this — the contributor must be able to read what they are certifying in the message they are replying to.