Campaigns Cited for Failure to File Pre-Primary Report

News Releases, Media Advisories

CAMPAIGNS CITED FOR FAILURE TO FILE PREPRIMARY REPORT

WASHINGTON California and New Jersey will be holding primary elections on June 2, 1998, to select candidates for the U.S. Senate (CA only) 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 29, 1998, disclosure reports from the following committees had not been filed:

CA/09...FRIENDS OF RANDAL STEWART...LARRY HARDY, TREAS...RANDAL M. STEWART...DEM

CA/44...COMMITTEE TO ELECT JOHN OVERMAN TO U.S. CONGRESS...KRISTEN S. OVERMAN, TREAS...JOHN W.J. OVERMAN...REP

NJ/07...CONNELLY FOR CONGRESS...JOSEPH CRYAN, TREAS...MARYANNE S. CONNELLY...DEM

The reports were to include financial activity occurring from April 1 through May 13. If sent by certified or registered mail, the reports should have been postmarked by May 18. Otherwise, the due date was closeofbusiness May 21.

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 27. Those committees which did not file on the due date were notified on May 22 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 Senate and House candidates in elections (those which are not authorized units of a candidate''''s campaign) also are required to file preprimary reports, unless they report monthly. Those committee names are not published by the FEC.

Further Commission action against nonfilers and late filers is decided on a casebycase basis. Federal law gives the FEC broad authority to initiate enforcement actions, including the imposition of civil penalties ($5,500 for "any violation" and $11,000 for any "knowing and willful" violation).

The next regularly scheduled disclosure reports for candidate committees will be the quarterly report, due July 15. It will cover activity from May 14 through June 30.

# # #