Week of February 19-23, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Draft Advisory Opinions and Comment Received

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-01 (Texas Majority PAC) On February 21, the Commission made public two draft advisory opinions (Draft A and Draft B) and made public one comment from Elias Law Group on the advisory opinion request.

Enforcement

The Commission made public one closed case, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 8178

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Spencer Toder for Senate and Spencer Toder, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to timely and accurately report disbursements of $521,598.14 in its original 2022 12-Day Pre-Primary Report. Toder was a 2022 candidate for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $4,000.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

The Commission made public one closed case, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

ADR 1143

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: McClellan for Congress and Scott M. Hubay, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to disclose $56,029.88 in additional disbursements on its original 2023 12-Day Pre-Special Election Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to retain an outside consultant to review its compliance procedures, conduct a training with those responsible for preparing and filing its reports, and pay a civil penalty of $3,200.

Administrative Fines

The Commission made public 12 closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine Search System.

AF 4445 Sturm4Congress and William Sturm, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 4645 Bracy for Congress and Lindsay F. Angerholzer, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 4646 Gashi for Congress and Thomas A. Newman, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $123.

AF 4648 Harbin for Georgia, Inc and Blake Harbin, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 4649 Jones, Herb (US House) and Ella Webster, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,450.

AF 4650 Holly McCormack for Congress and Holly McCormack, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $16,271.

AF 4651 Iroghama Omere for TX and Iroghama C. Omere, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 4652 Lahmeyer for Senate Inc and Luke Paulson, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 4653 Neighbors for Samuels and Andrew Minck, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $402.

AF 4654 Pat Dowell for Congress and Mattie Lacy, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 4655 Rebekah Jones Campaign and Stephanie Jones, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $402.

AF 4656 Reed for Missouri and Christina Lynch, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $7,708.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 22-3319) On February 16, Plaintiffs filed a Response in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 22-5339) On February 20, Plaintiff-Appellant filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

End Citizens United PAC v. FEC (Case No. 22-5277) On February 20, Plaintiff-Appellant filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Outreach

On February 17, Assistant General Counsel Jessica Selinkoff participated in a panel discussion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Center for Scientific Responsibility and Justice’s annual meeting in Denver, CO.

On February 21, Commissioner Shana M. Broussard hosted a panel discussion to celebrate Black History Month, “Bringing Our Seat to the Table: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Black Women Leaders.” In the third Black History Month celebration she has hosted since joining the Commission, Commissioner Broussard spoke with four women who are notable leaders in politics, labor, and government about their professional careers, the influence of the generations that preceded them, and the legacy they hope to leave for those who follow. Additional information is available on the Commissioner’s webpage.

On February 22, Chairman Sean J. Cooksey spoke at Wiley Rein’s Annual Client Compliance Seminar in Washington, DC.

On February 22, Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub discussed campaign finance disclosure rules and the role of the Commission with an international delegation visiting the United States as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). On the same day, Vice Chair Weintraub spoke via videoconference with a class at USC Gould School of Law on money in politics and campaign finance regulation.

On February 23, Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum and Acting General Counsel Lisa Stevenson participated in the Administrative Law Review’s Symposium at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

February 27, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

February 29, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

March 12, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

March 14, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

February 27-28, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for candidates and their campaign committees.

March 12-13, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for political party committees.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming reporting due dates

March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Monthly Reporting schedule.

The Commission has posted the filing dates for the Special Election for New York’s 26th Congressional District. For more information, visit the Special Election Report Notice.

Additional research materials

Election Dates. The Commission has posted Preliminary 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.

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 2020: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is now 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.

The 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 Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.

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. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.