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Coordinated communications periods: presidential primaries (2020)

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 following chart provides a breakdown of the 120-day coordinated communications (CC) periods for the 2020 presidential primaries.

NOTE: For communications that refer to both a party and a clearly identified federal candidate please consult the regulations at 11 CFR 109.21(c)(4)(i)-(iv).

Related pages:

Coordinated communications periods for presidential primaries1

State Election date Coordinated communications period (120-days prior to primary through date of general election)
Alabama Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Alaska Primary (D) 04/10/2020~2 12/12/2019 - 11/03/2020
American Samoa Caucus (D) 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Arizona Primary 03/17/2020 11/18/2019 - 11/03/2020
Arkansas Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
California Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Colorado Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Connecticut Primary 08/11/2020~3 04/13/2020 - 11/03/2020
Delaware Primary 07/07/2020~4 03/09/2020 - 11/03/2020
District of Columbia Primary 06/02/2020 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
Florida Primary 03/17/2020 11/18/2019 - 11/03/2020
Georgia Primary 06/09/2020~5 02/10/2020 - 11/03/2020
Guam Caucus (D) 06/06/2020~6 02/07/2020 - 11/03/2020
Guam Convention (R) 03/14/2020 11/15/2019 - 11/03/2020
Hawaii Caucus (D) 05/22/2020~7 01/23/2020 - 11/03/2020
Hawaii Caucus (R) 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
Idaho Primary 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
Illinois Primary 03/17/2020 11/18/2019 - 11/03/2020
Indiana Primary 06/02/2020~8 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
Kansas Primary (D) 05/02/2020 01/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
Kentucky Primary 06/23/2020~9 02/24/2020 - 11/03/2020
Louisiana Primary 07/11/2020~10 03/13/2020 - 11/03/2020
Maine Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Maryland Primary 06/02/2020~11 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
Massachusetts Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Michigan Primary 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
Minnesota Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Mississippi Primary 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
Missouri Primary 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
Montana Primary 06/02/2020 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
Nebraska Primary 05/12/2020 01/13/2020 - 11/03/2020
Nevada Caucus (D) 02/22/2020 10/25/2019 - 11/03/2020
New Hampshire Primary 02/11/2020 10/14/2019 - 11/03/2020
New Jersey Primary 07/07/2020~12 03/09/2020 - 11/03/2020
New Mexico Primary 06/02/2020 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
New York Primary 06/23/2020~13 02/24/2020 - 11/03/2020
North Carolina Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
North Dakota Caucus (D) 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
North Dakota Caucus (R) 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
Northern Mariana Islands Caucus (D) 03/14/2020 11/15/2019 - 11/03/2020
Northern Mariana Islands Caucus (R) 03/15/2020 11/16/2019 - 11/03/2020
Ohio Primary 04/28/2020~14 12/30/2019 - 11/03/2020
Oklahoma Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Oregon Primary 05/19/2020 01/20/2020 - 11/03/2020
Pennsylvania Primary 06/02/2020~15 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
Puerto Rico Primary (D) 07/12/2020~16 03/14/2020 - 11/03/2020
Rhode Island Primary 06/02/2020~17 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
South Carolina Primary (D) 02/29/2020 11/01/2019 - 11/03/2020
South Dakota Primary 06/02/2020 02/03/2020 - 11/03/2020
Tennessee Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Texas Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Utah Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Vermont Primary 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Virgin Islands Caucus (D) 06/06/2020 02/07/2020 - 11/03/2020
Virginia Primary (D) 03/03/2020 11/04/2019 - 11/03/2020
Virginia Convention (R) 08/15/2020~18 04/17/2020 - 11/03/2020
Washington Primary 03/10/2020 11/11/2019 - 11/03/2020
West Virginia Primary 06/09/2020~19 02/10/2020 - 11/03/2020
Wisconsin Primary 04/07/2020 12/09/2019 - 11/03/2020
Wyoming Caucus (D) 04/17/2020~20 12/19/2019 - 11/03/2020
Wyoming Convention (R) 05/09/2020 01/10/2020 - 11/03/2020

Footnotes

  • 1.  

    Because delegate selection rules vary by state and by party, some presidential election, caucus and convention dates are not yet available, and the published dates are subject to change. In some states, for example, one or both major parties intend to hold caucuses but have not finalized their plans. To account for these and other similar situations, this chart will be updated as additional information becomes available.

  • 2.  

    On 03/23/2020, the Alaska Democratic Party changed its party's presidential primary election from 04/04/2020 to 04/10/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 3.  

    On 04/17/2020, the Connecticut Governor again postponed the state’s presidential primary election, this time from 06/02/2020 to 08/11/2020. (The primary had originally been scheduled for 04/28/2020.) The changes were in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 4.  

    On 05/07/2020, the Delaware Governor again postponed the state's presidential primary election, this time from 06/02/2020 to 07/07/2020. (The primary had originally been scheduled for 04/28/2020.) The changes were made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 5.  

    On 04/09/2020, the Georgia Secretary of State again postponed the state’s presidential primary election, this time from 05/19/2020 to 06/09/2020. (The primary had originally been scheduled for 03/24/2020.) The changes were made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 6.  

    On 06/04/2020, the Democratic Party of Guam announced plans to postpone its presidential caucus from 05/02/2020 to 06/06/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 7.  

    On 03/27/2020, the Democratic Party of Hawaii announced plans to postpone its presidential caucus from 04/04/2020 to 05/22/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 8.  

    On 03/20/2020, the Indiana Governor changed the presidential primary election from 05/05/2020 to 06/02/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 9.  

    On 03/16/2020, the Kentucky Governor changed the presidential primary election from 05/19/2020 to 06/23/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 10.  

    On 04/14/2020, the Louisiana Governor again postponed the state’s presidential primary election, this time from 06/20/2020 to 07/11/2020. (The primary had originally been scheduled for 04/04/2020.) The changes were made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 11.  

    On 03/17/2020, the Maryland Governor changed the presidential primary election from 04/28/2020 to 06/02/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 12.  

    On 04/08/2020, the New Jersey Governor changed the presidential primary election from 06/02/2020 to 07/07/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 13.  

    On 05/06/2020, a U.S. district court reinstated the 06/23/2020 New York Democratic presidential primary election which the State Board of Elections had cancelled days earlier. The Board has appealed the decision. (The New York Governor had postponed the original 04/28/2020 primary until 06/23/2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

  • 14.  

    On 03/27/2020, the Ohio Governor changed the presidential primary election from 03/17/2020 to 04/28/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 15.  

    On 03/27/2020, the Pennsylvania Governor changed the presidential primary election from 04/28/2020 to 06/02/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 16.  

    On 05/21/2020, the Puerto Rico Democratic Party again postponed its presidential primary election, this time from 04/26/2020 to 07/12/2020. (The primary had originally been scheduled for 03/29/2020). The changes were made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 17.  

    On 03/23/2020, the Rhode Island Governor changed the presidential primary election from 04/28/2020 to 06/02/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 18.  

    On 06/27/2020, the Republican Party of Virginia changed its presidential convention from 05/02/2020 to 08/15/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 19.  

    On 04/01/2020, the West Virginia Governor changed the presidential primary election from 05/12/2020 to 06/09/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 20.  

    On 04/01/2020, the Wyoming Democratic Party announced plans to postpone its presidential caucus from 04/04/2020 to 04/17/2020. The change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.