Groups that register voluntarily

The Commission occasionally receives calls from campaigns and other groups that have chosen to register with the FEC as political committees before they were technically required to under the campaign finance law. Since these groups do not meet the legal definition of “political committee,” they are not required to file reports with the FEC. Unfortunately, the Commission has no way of knowing that, and can only assume that these groups registered because they triggered the law’s filing requirements. For that reason, we recommend that these groups either file reports voluntarily or submit a statement when reports are due indicating that they have not reached the applicable registration threshold. Doing so will help clarify the public record. Please note, these filers may still receive “failure to file” notices from the FEC when reports are due. As always, you can contact the Reports Analysis Division with any questions.