Information for local party committees not registered with the FEC
A local party organization is an organization that is responsible for a political party's activities below the state level (such as city, county or district level) but is not registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a district or local party committee. The Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and FEC regulations:
- Require local party organizations to register and file disclosure reports with the FEC once their activities related to federal elections exceed certain dollar thresholds;
- Place dollar limits on the contributions and expenditures that local party organizations may make on behalf of candidates for federal office;
- Prohibit certain kinds of contributions in connection with federal elections; and
- Require local party organizations to spend only permissible funds to support federal candidates and to engage in "Federal Election Activity," as defined by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA).
Because of these limits, prohibitions and registration thresholds, local party organizations should carefully monitor the money they raise and spend in connection with federal elections. Organizations that wish to avoid registration and disclosure should make certain that their activities do not exceed the registration thresholds.
Once a committee has reached or exceeded any of these thresholds, it must register and begin reporting to the Commission.
