Week of May 6 – 10, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7976

COMPLAINANT: Lavora Barnes, Michigan Democratic Party
RESPONDENTS: John James; and John James for Senate, Inc. and Timothy Caughlin, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that James and the Committee converted campaign funds to personal use in connection with expenditures related to James’s speaking engagements, totaling $2,286.71. James was a 2020 candidate for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat and a 2022 candidate for Michigan’s 10th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for James to pay a civil penalty of $650 and the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $850, and for James to refund the Committee $2,286.71.

MUR 8133

COMPLAINANT: Stephen A. Barnhoorn
RESPONDENT: Mario Fratto for Congress and Thomas Datwyler, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee (1) failed to disclose disbursements totaling less than or equal to $1,199.88 for 12 digital advertisements on Facebook and an unknown number of digital ads of unknown cost on a website, The Buffalo Chronicle, and (2) knowingly accepted $29,600 in excessive contributions from individuals. Fratto was a 2022 candidate for New York’s 24th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

Litigation

CREW v. FEC (Case No. 22-0035) On May 10, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order, denying Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel.

National Republican Senatorial Committee, et al. v. FEC, et al. (Case No. 24-3051) On May 3, Plaintiff-Appellants filed a Third Brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Outreach

On May 7, Commissioner Shana M. Broussard spoke on a virtual panel entitled Citizens United Overreach hosted by the Center for American Progress.

On May 7-8, the Commission held a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.

On May 9, Commissioner Broussard and Public Affairs Specialist Myles Martin spoke to members of the foreign press about the Commission’s role and disclosure systems as part of the State Department’s Foreign Press Center’s 2024 Election Briefing in Washington, D.C.

Public Disclosure

On May 3, the Office of the Inspector General issued a report on the Federal Election Commission’s Compliance with Improper Payments Reporting for Fiscal Year 2023.

Press releases

FEC cites committee for failure to file 12-Day Pre-Convention Financial Report (issued May 9)

FEC cites committees for failure to file 12-Day Pre-Primary Financial Report (issued May 10)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

May 14, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 16, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

June 4, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

June 6, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

May 21-22, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for trade associations and their PACs.

June 5, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for nonconnected PACs.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

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

The Commission has posted the reporting dates for the New Jersey 10th District Special Election. For more information, see the Report Notice.

Additional research materials

Election Dates. The Commission has posted 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 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 X and YouTube

Follow @FEC on X 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.