Campaigns Cited for Failure to File Pre-Primary Report

 WASHINGTON – Alabama will be holding primary elections on June 1, 2004, to select candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

          Provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act require committees supporting candidates involved in the primary to file reports of their financial activity 12 days before the election.

          As of 5 p.m., May 27, 2004, disclosure reports from the following committees had not been filed:

   AL……SWANSON FOR SENATE COMMITTEE…JOHNNY SWANSON III, TREAS…

   JOHNNY SWANSON III…IND

*  AL/07…FRIENDS OF ALBERT TURNER…LESLIE FORD, TREAS…

   ALBERT TURNER …DEM

          The reports were to include financial activity occurring from April 1, 2004 through May 12, 2004.  If sent by certified, registered or overnight mail, the reports should have been postmarked by May 17. Otherwise, the due date was close‑of‑business May 20. Mandatory electronic filing requirements became effective as of January 1, 2001. Any committee that receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of $50,000 in the current calendar year, or that reasonably expects to do so, must submit its reports electronically. These rules became effective for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2001.

          Some individuals and their committees have no obligation to file reports under federal election law, even though their names may appear on state ballots.  If an individual raises or spends less than $5,000, he or she is not considered a "candidate" subject to reporting under the FECA.

          The FEC notified committees involved in the primary of their potential filing requirements on April 26.  Those committees which did not file on the due date were notified on May 21 that reports had not been received and that their names would be published if they did not respond within four business days.

          Other political committees supporting House candidates in elections (those which are not authorized units of a candidate''''s campaign) also are required to file pre‑primary reports, unless they report monthly.  Those committee names are not published by the FEC.

          Further Commission action against non‑filers and late filers falls under the Administrative Fine Program. Political committees and treasurers who fail to file their reports on time may be subject to civil money penalties ranging from $30 to $16,000 (or more for repeat late- and non-filers).

          The next regularly scheduled disclosure reports for candidate committees will be the quarterly report, due July 15.  It will cover activity from May 13 through June 30.

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* Friends of Albert Turner is required to file electronically. The Committee filed an incomplete paper Pre-Primary Report with coverage dates of April 15 through May 15, 2004. The correct coverage dates for the Pre-Primary Report are April 1 through May 12, 2004.