BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The United States 2018 midterm elections cost a huge quantity of money as elections in the country became the games of money, with much involvement of "dark money" and corruption, according to the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2018 released by China Thursday.
The report was released by the Information Office of the State Council.
The Center for Responsive Politics said on Nov. 8, 2018 that the 2018 midterm elections were proved to be by far the most expensive ones on record. The final cost of 2018 midterm elections stood at 5.2 billion U.S. dollars, a 35 percent increase over 2014 in nominal dollars, the report said.
Secret money donations and "dark money" swept over the elections, the report said. According to an NBC report on July 21, 2018, U.S. Treasury Department announced that it would no longer require most non-profit organizations to report their donors, making elections much less transparent, the report said.
Electoral corruption became more severe and the U.S. Government served as the spokesperson of the rich, it said.
The report noted that politicians' corruption scandals were seen constantly. Miami Herald reported on December 8, 2018 that former Tallahassee mayor Scott Maddox faced a 44-count indictment including bribery, extortion and fraud, said the human rights report.
The public had pessimistic attitudes towards U.S. politics. A Pew Research Center survey on American democracy and the political system released on April 26, 2018 showed 53 percent of the surveyed said the United States did not respect "the rights and freedoms of all people," the report added.
