Common Cause Georgia, et al. v. FEC (22-3067)

On October 10, 2022, Common Cause Georgia, et al. (plaintiffs) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Commission’s dismissal of their administrative complaint.

Background

Plaintiffs filed an administrative complaint on March 31, 2021 alleging True the Vote (a nonprofit corporation) and the Georgia Republican Party violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act). The complaint alleges True the Vote’s spending for election-related activities in connection with the 2021 Georgia Senate runoff was undertaken in partnership with and at the request of the Georgia Republican Party. The complaint further alleges True the Vote violated the Act by making prohibited corporate in-kind contributions to the Georgia Republican Party, which allegedly violated the Act by knowingly accepting prohibited contributions and failing to disclose them.

On August 11, 2022, the Commission voted 2-3 to find reason to believe a violation had occurred and voted 2-3 to find there was no reason to believe. The Commission then voted 4-0 to close the file.

Plaintiffs ask the court to declare the Commission’s dismissal of their administrative complaint arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law, and to order the Commission to conform with that declaration within 30 days.

District Court (DC)

Court decisions:

Related documents:

• Federal Election Commission's Memorandum in Support of Its Motion for Summary Judgment and in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (03/17/2023)
• Federal Election Commission's Motion for Summary Judgment (03/17/2023)
• Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Points and Authorities Supporting Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (02/16/2023)
• Defendant Federal Election Commission's Answer (12/16/2022)
• Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (10/10/2022)