Hearn v. FEC

On October 5, 2007, Gloria Hearn filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana challenging two administrative fines the Commission levied against her campaign committee and its treasurer for failure to file disclosure reports.

Background and complaint

Gloria Hearn was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2006 election. In her complaint, Ms. Hearn alleges that her campaign committee filed paper copies of the reports on time, then re-filed the reports electronically after the Commission informed the committee that it should have filed electronically. According to the complaint, the Commission imposed fines of $5,000 and $3,500 for the two violations.

Electronic filing

Commission regulations require House campaign committees, among others, to file all reports and statements electronically if their total contributions or total expenditures exceed, or are expected to exceed, $50,000 in a calendar year. 2 U.S.C. §434(a)(11)(A)(i); 11 CFR 104.18(a)(1)(ii). Reports filed on paper do not satisfy the filing obligations for these committees. 11 CFR 104.18(a)(2).

Relief

The plaintiff asks the court to waive the administrative fines imposed by the Commission.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, 1:07-cv-01674.