Week of October 12-16, 2020

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 20-1778) On October 9, the Clerk of Court for the District of Columbia entered Default against the Commission. On October 14, the court ordered that default judgment be entered against the Commission.

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 20-5159) On October 14, the Commission filed a Brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 16-259) On October 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Mandate.

Crossroads GPS v. CREW, et al. (Case No. 18-5261) On October 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Mandate.

Outreach

On October 12, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub delivered a talk via video conference on campaign finance, the Constitution, and the 2020 election as part of the Byron White Center’s Constitutional Law Speaker Series at the University of Colorado Law School.

On October 14, Commissioner Weintraub delivered a talk via video conference about campaign finance, the role of the FEC, and the 2020 election as part of a weekly speaker series hosted by the Election Law Society at William & Mary Law School.

On October 14, Commissioner Weintraub participated via video conference in a panel discussion on Election Integrity in the 2020 Election for students at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, co-sponsored by student chapters of the American Constitution Society, Democratic Law Student Association, the Federalist Society, the Law and Technology Student Association, and the Republican National Lawyers Association.

On October 15, Commissioner Weintraub participated via video conference on a panel on Data, Disinformation and Privacy in the 2020 US Election, as part of the In:Confidence Digital series hosted by the Financial Times Group and Privitar.

On October 16, Commissioner Weintraub spoke via video conference about campaign finance, the role of the FEC, and the 2020 election to a class on Civil Liberties and the Constitution at Spelman College.

Upcoming Commission meetings

October 20, 2020: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

Upcoming reporting due dates

October 20: October Monthly reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2020 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

October 22: Pre-general election reports are due. For more information, refer to the 2020 Pre- and Post-General Reports page of the Commission website. Staff in the Reports Analysis Division and Electronic Filing Office will be available until 8:00 p.m. (EDT) on October 22 to answer questions regarding the content and filing of reports.

Upcoming educational programs

November 18, 2020: The Commission will host a webinar on winding down the campaign and Post-General reporting.

Status of agency operations

See the Commission’s statement on the status of agency operations, updated on August 10, 2020. At this stage, most agency staff remain in telework status and the Commission’s office remains closed to visitors.

Additional research materials

Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.

Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives is available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

FEC Notify: Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

The 2019 Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available. This publication identifies the federal and state agencies responsible for the disclosure of campaign finances, lobbying, personal finances, public financing, candidates on the ballot, election results, spending on state initiatives and other financial filings.

The FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.

Other election-related resources

Videos on protecting U.S. elections. The FBI’s Protected Voices initiative provides videos designed to help political campaigns protect themselves from foreign influence. The 2019 videos offer guidance on ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain, social media literacy, and foreign influence operations. Other videos, released in 2018, include cyber hygiene topics such as social engineering, patching, router hardening, and app and browser safety.

Join the FEC on Twitter and YouTube

Follow @FEC on Twitter to receive the latest information on agency updates, news releases, and weekly activity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, FECTube: FECConnect on Demand, to watch instructional videos that have been designed to help candidates and committees comply with federal campaign finance laws. Note that the FEC is not currently available through other social media platforms at this time. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.