A $2.5bn election: Where the money comes from

1 November 2012 Last updated at 18:18 ET Help

When the US presidential election is over estimates say it will end up costing $2.5bn (£1.5bn).

That works out to about $20 (£12) per vote.

The money comes from a variety of sources: from the candidates' own fund raising, to money collected by groups called Super PACs.

Super PACs cannot work directly with the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns, but they spend millions on TV ads hoping to influence the electorate.

All of this adds up to the most expensive presidential campaign in US history.

The BBC will be providing full online live results of the US presidential election on 6 November. More details here

Sources: Federal Election Commission, Center for Responsive Politics, Kantar Media/CMAG

Additional images: Getty Images and ThinkStock

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.