Week of March 25-29, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

On March 26 and 27, the Commission met in executive session.

On March 27, the Commission held an open meeting.

Advisory Opinions

Supplemental Material and Extension of Time Received

Advisory Opinion 2024-03 (PoliticalMeetings.com, LLC) On March 25, the Commission received Supplemental Material and an extension of time from the requestor. The Commission also received one comment on the request.

Enforcement

The Commission made public two closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 8051

COMPLAINANT: New Jersey Democratic State Committee
RESPONDENTS: Kiley for Congress and Ronald Gravino, in his official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee); Anita Greenberg-Belli for Council; Friends of Cole for Council; Friends of Mike Glackin; Friends of Ross Licitra; Friends of Sue Kiley for Commissioner (State Committee); Koch for Council; O’Scanlon for Senate; Owen Henry for Mayor; Scharfenberger for Assembly; and Senator Kyrillos Committee
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the State Committee made and the Federal Committee received a prohibited contribution of $1,000. Attached to the complaint was a Request for Additional Information that the Commission’s Reports Analysis Division sent the Federal Committee listing additional possible prohibited contributions from nine other state committees. Susan Kiley was a 2022 candidate for New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

MUR 8107

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Mike Braun for Indiana and Thomas Datwyler, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to correctly disclose loan balances, terms, dates, repayment amounts, and other information for 29 transactions totaling $11,569,963 involving three bank loans, 13 lines of credit, and 13 candidate loans.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $159,000. Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub issued a Statement.

Audits

Proposed Final Audit Report on Madison Project Inc. On March 26, the Commission approved by tally vote the Proposed Final Audit Report on Madison Project Inc., covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020. The Commission approved a finding related to Disclosure of Occupation and Name of Employer.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2024-01 (Candidate Security) Draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking On March 27, the Commission approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on candidate security, which would codify several Commission advisory opinions that authorized the use of campaign funds to pay for certain security measures and address additional issues raised in those advisory opinions. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically via the Commission’s website by referencing REG 2024-01. The deadline for comments will be 60 days after the Notice is published in the Federal Register.

Outreach

On March 28, Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum attended “AI’s Impact on the 2024 Global Elections,” an event hosted by the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and Aspen Digital, a program of the Aspen Institute, in New York, NY. Commissioner Lindenbaum spoke on a panel entitled “Implications for the Upcoming US Elections,” moderated by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Press releases

FEC approves Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on candidate security (issued March 27)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

April 16, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

April 18, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

April 30, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 1, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

April 3, 2024: The Commission will host FECFile webinars for PACs and party committees.

April 4, 2024: The Commission will host FECFile webinars for candidate committees.

April 16-17, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for corporations and their PACs.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming reporting due dates

April 15: April Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Quarterly Reporting schedule.

April 20: April Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Additional research materials

Election Dates. The Commission has posted Preliminary 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.

Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.

Federal Elections 2020: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is now available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

FEC Notify: Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.

The Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available. This publication identifies the federal and state agencies responsible for the disclosure of campaign finances, lobbying, personal finances, public financing, candidates on the ballot, election results, spending on state initiatives and other financial filings.

The Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.

The FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.

Other election-related resources

Videos on protecting U.S. elections. The FBI’s Protected Voices initiative provides videos designed to help political campaigns protect themselves from foreign influence. The 2019 videos offer guidance on ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain, social media literacy, and foreign influence operations. Other videos, released in 2018, include cyber hygiene topics such as social engineering, patching, router hardening, and app and browser safety.

Join the FEC on Twitter and YouTube

Follow @FEC on Twitter to receive the latest information on agency updates, news releases, and weekly activity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, FECTube: FECConnect on Demand, to watch instructional videos that have been designed to help candidates and committees comply with federal campaign finance laws. Note that the FEC is not currently available through other social media platforms. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.