AO 2010-17: Undesignated contributions may be applied to general or special election

A congressional candidate who is running in both a special and general election that are being held on the same day may treat undesignated contributions as contributions made for the general election or for the special election. The candidate committee may divide undesignated contributions between the two elections as long as those contributions do not exceed the contributor’s combined limit for both elections. If the combined contribution limits for both elections are not exceeded, no redesignation is necessary. 

Background 

Stutzman for Congress (the Committee), is the principal campaign committee of Marlin Stutzman, a Republican candidate in Indiana’s third congressional district. The incumbent holder of that office, Representative Mark Souder, won the Republican primary election on May 4. After the primary, Representative Souder resigned from office. Indiana’s governor then scheduled a special election to fill Souder’s office. That special election will be held on November 2, which is the same day as the general election. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Representative Souder’s term of office. The candidate elected in the general election will serve the next full two-year term of office. 

The Republican Party held a caucus to nominate a candidate for the special election and a new candidate for the general election. Stutzman was nominated as the Republican Party candidate for both of those elections. Stutzman is campaigning in both elections and the Committee anticipates it will receive undesignated contributions that exceed the Federal Election Campaign Act’s (the Act) contribution limits for a single election. The Committee wishes to redesignate the excessive portion of those contributions from the general election to the special election without seeking written redesignations from the contributors. 

Analysis 

The Commission determined that the Committee may apply undesignated contributions to the general election or to the special election. As long as those contributions do not exceed the contributor’s combined limit for both elections, the Committee may divide the contributions between the two elections. The Committee need not seek a redesignation from the contributor if the combined contribution limits for both elections are not exceeded. 

Individuals may contribute up to $2,400 to a candidate “with respect to any election for Federal office.” 11 CFR 110.1(b)(1). These contributions limits “apply separately with respect to each election.” 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(6); 11 CFR 110.1(j)(1). The Act and Commission regulations define “election” to include both a general election and a special election. 

Under the Act and Commission regulations, an undesignated contribution is considered a contribution for the next election for that federal office. 11 CFR 110.1(b)(2)(ii). In these circumstances, because the special election and the general election for the same federal office will be held on the same day, both elections are considered “the next election” for purposes of treating undesignated contributions. In this situation, although the federal office sought by Mr. Stutzman is the same in both elections, each election will fill a vacancy for a different term of that office. AO 1984-42 dealt with a similar situation in the State of Kentucky, which held a special election for a Congressional district seat on the same day as the general election. The Commission concluded in that opinion that each election is subject to a separate contribution limit. 

In AO 1986-31, the Commission addressed a nearly identical situation: North Carolina held a special election on the same day as the general election for the same Senate seat after the incumbent Senator John East died in office. In that case the Commission concluded that a candidate’s authorized committee could treat undesignated contributions as made with respect to either election or divide them between the two elections as long as the contributor did not exceed the combined contribution limits for both elections. The Commission also determined that the committee did not need to seek redesignations from contributors.

Therefore, in this case, the Committee may treat undesignated contributions as made with respect to either election or as divided between the two elections. This means the Committee may accept up to the contributor’s combined $4,800 limit for both elections ($2,400 for the special election and $2,400 for the general election). Accordingly, the Committee does not have to seek written designations or redesignations for these contributions from the contributors. However, undesignated contributions that exceed the contributor’s combined contribution limits for both elections are prohibited to the extent they exceed the combined limits. 

AO 2010-17: Date issued: September 23, 2010; Length: 4 pages.