Campaigns Cited for Failure to File Pre-Primary Report

News Releases, Media Advisories

CAMPAIGNS CITED FOR FAILURE TO FILE PREPRIMARY REPORT

WASHINGTON Arkansas and Pennsylvania will be holding primary elections on May 19, 1998, 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 14, 1998, disclosure reports from the following committees had not been filed:

AR/04...JUDY SMITH FOR CONGRESS...ALVERNON MCHENRY, TREAS...JUDY SMITH...DEM

PA/01...CARN FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE...RHONDA SHARIF, TREAS...ANDREW J. CARN...DEM

PA/04...ADAMETZ CONGRESS...KATRINA M. ADAMETZ, TREAS...PAUL T. ADAMETZ...REP

The report was to include financial activity occurring from April 1 through April 29. If sent by registered mail, the report should have been postmarked by May 4. Otherwise, the due date was closeofbusiness May 7.

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 13. Those committees which did not file on the due date were notified on May 8 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 ($5,000 for "any violation" and $10,000 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 April 30 through June 30.

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