Carter/Mondale Reelection Committee and DNC v. FEC

The Commission's certification of public funds to the Republican nominee was challenged in Carter-Mondale Reelection Committee, Inc. and the Democratic National Committee v. FEC, filed July 24, 1980. The Carter-Mondale Committee (the Committee) asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to prevent the Commission's certification of the Republican nominees, pending resolution of an administrative complaint filed by the plaintiffs against the nominees. In their complaint to the Commission, the Committee had said that Ronald Reagan would be ineligible for public funds since he had allegedly violated the law on several counts. The Committee had charged that several groups, purportedly making independent expenditures on Mr. Reagan's behalf, were in fact making qualified campaign expenditures with the prior consent of the candidate and his agents. In the suit, the Commission argued that the certification was proper and within the Commission's exclusive jurisdiction. On September 12, the court ruled in the Commission's favor and affirmed the Commission's "action in certifying the nominees' application for funds."

Source:   FEC Annual Report 1980. In re Carter-Mondale Reelection Committee, Inc., 642 F.2d 538 (D.C. Cir. 1980).