Audit Reports

Three types of committees are audited:

• Authorized committees
• Unauthorized committees
• Publicly financed committees

Authorized committees

Authorized committees are committees authorized by candidates to receive contributions or make expenditures on their behalf. They include principal campaign committees as well as any other political committees authorized by:

• Candidates for nomination or election to the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate
• Candidates for President who are not financed by public funds (also read publicly financed committees for more information) [1]

Unauthorized committees

Unauthorized committees are committees that are not authorized by a candidate. They include party committees, nonconnected political action committees (PACs), separate segregated funds (PACs connected to labor organizations, corporations, trade/membership associations, or cooperatives) and delegate committees.

Publicly financed committees

Publicly financed committees are authorized committees of presidential candidates who receive public funds from the U.S. Treasury for use in connection with the candidate's primary election campaign, the general election campaign, or both.

Until 2014 legislation terminated public funding for the national conventions of any major or minor party, this category also included committees established by a major or minor political party for the purpose of receiving contributions or making expenditures in connection with the party's national nominating convention. Because of the termination of public funding, the Commission has not audited presidential nominating convention committees or host committees since the 2012 election cycle, when such committees last received public funding.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Committees authorized by candidates for president who are financed by public funds are also authorized candidate committees under the Commission's general definition of "authorized committee." 11 CFR 100.5(f)(1). Nevertheless, they are not included in this audit category, because publicly financed committees are subject to mandatory audit under different authorities.

2022 election cycle: Title 52 Audits

• Directive 70: FEC Directive on Processing Audit Reports
• Procedural Rules for Audit Hearings, 74 Fed. Reg. 33140 (July 10, 2009)
  • Correction, 74 Fed. Reg. 39535 (August 7, 2009)
• Policy Statement Regarding a Program for Requesting Consideration of Legal Questions by the Commission, 84. Fed. Reg. 36602 (July 29, 2019)

2024 election cycle: Title 52 and Title 26 Audits

• Title 52 audit procedure: Audit Process for Committees That Do Not Receive Public Funds, 88 Fed. Reg. 30742 (May 12, 2023)
• Title 26 audit procedure: Audit, 11 CFR §9038.1
• Title 26 audit procedure: Audits, 11 CFR §9007.1