Photograph by Richard Ellis/Getty Images

Stephen Colbert poked fun at the explosion of so-called super-PACs by creating his own, which the comedian called Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.

Inspired by Colbert, Duke University student Stefani Jones filed papers with the Federal Election Commission this week establishing a super-PAC she’s calling Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Yesterday.

Jones said the idea to form a super-PAC came from a project in a class she’s taking on political gridlock.

“We’re looking into how campaign finance reform and FEC reform might affect political and congressional gridlock, so I filed for the ‘Super PAC’ to show just how easy it is for someone to inject money into the political process,” she said in an e-mail message. A website is underway.

It’s not hard to create a super-PAC — all it requires is filing a basic form with the FEC, which helped pave the way for super-PACs in two advisory opinions in 2010. There are about 400 super-PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, though only 18 of them reported raising more than $1 million. One of them is the Colbert-linked PAC, which raised $1.1 million through February.

“We are not connected to any candidate or party, but we intend to use our powers for good, because with great money, or power, comes great responsibility,” Jones said. “We were inspired by Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC (hence the name) and we’re still looking into ways to best direct our funds.”