AO 2006-26: application of contribution limits to court-ordered elections

A candidate who was previously nominated in a primary in the 23rd congressional district in Texas but who, because of a court order, will now participate in a newly scheduled open special general election has separate contribution limits for the (1) March 7 primary; (2) a regular general election campaign that ended August 4 (the date of the court decision); and (3) the November 7 court-ordered special general election.(1)

Background

On August 4, 2006, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, on remand from the Supreme Court, ordered new boundaries for congressional districts in Texas, including the 23rd district.(2) The Court also ordered that special general elections be held on November 7, 2006, in those districts in conjunction with the already scheduled general election for other Federal and nonfederal offices in Texas. The special general elections will be open to all who qualify for the ballot in accordance with the court-ordered filing deadlines, and will not be limited to the primary winners from earlier in 2006. If no candidate receives a majority of votes in any of the five districts, then a runoff election will be held in that district on a date to be determined later.

Texans for Henry Bonilla (the Bonilla Committee), the principal campaign committee of Representative Henry Bonilla, asked the Commission to address questions regarding the application of contribution limits in this re-districting situation. Congressman Bonilla is seeking re-election in the 23rd congressional district and ran unopposed in the primary held on March 7, 2006. As a result of the court order, Representative Bonilla was no longer his party's nominee, but he has qualified to be a candidate in the special general election in the 23rd district. The Bonilla Committee asked the Commission if limits on contributions to the Bonilla Committee for the newly scheduled November 7, 2006, special general are separate and distinct from the contribution limits that applied to the cancelled November 7 regular general election in the 23rd congressional district.

Treatment of contributions for the special general election

Contributions made to the Bonilla Committee for the special general election are subject to separate and distinct limits from contributions made for the cancelled regular general election. The district court decision did not void the holding of the March primary for the purposes of the Act's contribution limitations, but nullified the results of the March primary. After August 4, Representative Bonilla was placed in a new electoral situation created by the district court. He was no longer the party nominee but, instead, was a candidate in an election that could involve other candidates of the same party as well as other parties. The effect of the court's August 4 decision was to create a new special general election period beginning August 5, 2006, and running through November 7, 2006.

Accordingly, one limit applies to contributions made before August 5, 2006, for the regular general election and a separate, special general election limit applies to contributions made after August 4. Thus, any lawful contributions made before August 5 with respect to the regular general election will not count toward the separate limit that will apply to contributions made after August 4 for the November 7 special general election.

Treatment of campaign debt

A candidate's authorized committees may determine their net debts outstanding for the November 7, 2006, special general election and accept contributions after the date of the election that are designated by the contributor for the special general election as long as the contributions do not exceed the committee's net debts outstanding from that election.(3) A candidate's authorized committees may not, however, determine net debts outstanding as of August 4 and collect any contributions after that date that are designated for the regular general election.

Aggregation and designation of contributions

A contribution received by the Bonilla Committee for the March primary does not have to be aggregated with any contribution received for the regular general election or the special general election, but remains subject to the Act's contribution limits. Additionally, any unused contributions lawfully made to the Bonilla Committee for the March primary or lawfully made for the regular general election as of August 4, 2006, do not have to be redesignated by contributors for the special general election.

Representative Bonilla's situation was considered to be materially indistinguishable from situations in Advisory Opinions 1996-36 and 1996-37, which addressed requests from previously nominated candidates after a Federal court ordered redistricting and special elections in Texas congressional districts. The responses in AO 2006-26 are based on those opinions.

AO 2006-26; Date Issued: August 29, 2006; length: 4 pages

1) An advisory opinion may be relied upon by any committee or other person involved in any specific transaction or activity that is indistinguishable in all its material aspects from the transaction or activity with respect to which the advisory opinion is rendered. 11 CFR 112.5(a)(2).

2) See League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry, Civil No. 2:03-CV-354 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 4, 2006).

3) See 11 CFR 110.1(b)(3) and 110.2(b)(3) for additional information.