Party officials decided to donate all the cash to charity after The Associated Press raised questions about their failure to gather the names of
the people who put the money in the buckets. Saturday’s Jackson Day event was headlined by Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and it was attended by more than 3,000 people, including elected officials, political operatives and other partisans. Spokesman Keith Talley said state Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester forgot to remind people in his speech to fill out a form to go along with their contributions.
Talley said a total of about $5,200 was collected in the buckets, though that number includes checks that the party won’t have to donate.