Coordinated communications periods (2019-20)
When a person pays for a communication that is coordinated with a candidate, a candidate’s authorized committee, or their agents, or a political party committee or its agents, the communication is considered an in-kind contribution to that candidate or party committee and is subject to the limits, prohibitions and reporting requirements of the federal campaign finance law. FEC regulations establish a three-prong test to determine whether a communication is coordinated. All three prongs of the test—payment, content and conduct—must be met for a communication to be deemed coordinated and thus an in-kind contribution.
One provision identifies certain pre-election time frames during which a public communication that references a candidate will satisfy the content prong of the coordination test.
The charts provide a breakdown of the 90-day coordinated communications periods for the 2019-20 House and Senate special elections.
Coordinated communications periods for 2019-20 special elections
| Special election | Election date | CC period (90-days prior through election date) |
|---|---|---|
| California 25th Congressional District Special General California 25th Congressional District Special Runoff |
03/03/20 05/12/20 |
12/04/19 - 03/03/20 02/12/20 - 05/12/20 |
| Maryland 7th Congressional District Special Primary Maryland 7th Congressional District Special General |
02/04/20 04/28/20 |
11/06/19 - 02/04/20 01/29/20 - 04/28/20 |
| North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Special Primary North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Special Primary Runoff North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Special General North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Special General |
04/30/19 07/09/19 [1] 07/09/19 [1] 09/10/19 [1] |
01/30/19 - 04/30/19 04/10/19 - 07/09/19 04/10/19 - 07/09/19 06/12/19 - 09/10/19 |
| North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special Primary North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special Primary Runoff North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special General North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special General |
05/14/19 09/10/19 [2] 09/10/19 [2] 11/05/19 [2] |
02/13/19 - 05/14/19 06/12/19 - 09/10/19 06/12/19 - 09/10/19 08/07/19 - 11/05/19 |
| Pennsylvania 12th Congressional District Special General | 05/21/19 | 02/20/19 - 05/21/19 |
| Wisconsin 7th Congressional District Special Primary Wisconsin 7th Congressional District Special General |
02/18/20 05/12/20 |
11/20/19 - 02/18/20 02/12/20 - 05/12/20 |
Footnotes:
[1] In the event that Special Runoff Elections are NOT necessary, the Special General Election will be held on July 9, 2019, instead of September 10, 2019.
[2] In the event that Special Runoff Elections are NOT necessary, the Special General Election will be held on September 10, 2019, instead of November 5, 2019.
NOTE: For communications that refer to both a party and a clearly identified federal candidate, please consult the regulations at 11 CFR109.21(c)(4)(i)-(iv).