Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (23-3163)

On October 20, 2023, Campaign Legal Center and OpenSecrets (plaintiffs) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the Commission unlawfully failed to act on or respond to their 2019 rulemaking petition. The plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

The plaintiffs’ petition involved amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act passed as part of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015. Those amendments allowed national party committees to establish “separate, segregated” accounts for presidential nominating conventions, party headquarters buildings, and legal proceedings.

The plaintiffs ask the court to declare that the FEC’s alleged failure to act on or respond to their petition violates the APA and to order the Commission to issue a final decision within 30 days.

Source: FEC Record — November 2023

District Court (DC)

Court decisions:

Related documents:

• Federal Election Commission's Reply in Support of Its Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (06/28/2024)
• Plaintiffs' Combined Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and Reply in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (05/30/2024)
• Federal Election Commission's Motion for Summary Judgment and Federal Election Commission's Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Its Motion for Summary Judgment and in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (05/02/2024)
• Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (04/04/2024)
• Defendant Federal Election Commission's Answer (12/22/2023)
• Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (10/20/2023)