Elderly Michigan Widow Stunned to Learn Federal Records Show Nearly $150,000 in ActBlue Donations Made in Her Name (Video)

An 88-year-old widow living in a modest trailer in rural Michigan has expressed shock after being shown federal campaign finance records attributing nearly $150,000 in political donations to her through the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue over a five-year period.

Elizabeth Waffle, who resides on a dirt road in Milan, Michigan, after her house burned down two years ago, lives on a modest pension and does not own a computer. She has limited internet access on her phone. When confronted with Federal Election Commission data by journalist Charlie LeDuff, Waffle reacted with disbelief at the scale of the contributions listed under her name.

The records show 14,696 separate donations totaling more than $150,000 — the equivalent of roughly eight donations every day for five years, averaging just over $9 each. Among them are 47 contributions to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over the past two years. Waffle acknowledged making a handful of small, legitimate donations to liberal causes and confirmed she has given to El-Sayed in the past, but firmly rejected the idea that she authorized the volume or total amount reflected in the filings.

“One hundred and fifty thousand? Hell no. I don’t have that kind of money. This is very abnormal,” Waffle said. She added that she believes “there’s something in there that’s off” and that the pattern is wrong. Some of the listed donations appear tied to previous addresses, including an apartment she rented briefly after the fire, and in some cases contributions were recorded from both addresses on the same day. Others went to candidates in other states she said she had never heard of.

The case has drawn attention amid longstanding scrutiny of ActBlue, the dominant online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and causes. Critics have pointed to patterns in which large numbers of small-dollar donations are attributed to ordinary Americans, including elderly individuals with limited means or technical access, raising questions about possible straw donor schemes, identity misuse, or inadequate verification. Multiple state attorneys general have investigated ActBlue over allegations involving foreign contributions, prepaid cards, and untraceable methods. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton previously sought a criminal referral to the Justice Department, while congressional committees have examined the platform’s compliance practices. ActBlue’s CEO has invoked the Fifth Amendment during related testimony.

Waffle’s situation is not isolated in public reporting. Similar cases involving senior citizens listed as high-volume small donors have surfaced in other states, prompting calls for tighter donor verification and greater transparency in online political fundraising. Supporters of ActBlue maintain that the platform processes millions of legitimate grassroots contributions and that anomalies should be investigated individually rather than treated as systemic failure.

No formal charges have been filed in connection with the donations attributed to Waffle, and the records themselves do not prove intentional fraud by any specific party. However, the discrepancy between the documented totals and the donor’s own account of her limited giving has intensified demands for answers from both ActBlue and election officials about how such patterns arise and whether current safeguards adequately protect against unauthorized use of personal information in campaign finance reporting.

As investigations into broader ActBlue practices continue at the state and federal levels, cases like Waffle’s highlight ongoing concerns about the integrity of small-dollar donation systems that form a major pillar of modern political fundraising.

Editor's note: we initially reported on this type of of potential ActBlue fraud back in October of 2024 as seen in the clip below.