Week of January 15-19, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Draft Advisory Opinion

Advisory Opinion Request 2023-11 (VoteDown PAC) On January 18, the Commission made public a draft advisory opinion.

Enforcement

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

MUR 8044

COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust and Kendra Arnold
RESPONDENTS: Taddeo for Congress and Shelby Green, in her official capacity as treasurer (federal committee); Annette Taddeo for Governor (state committee); and Annette Taddeo
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Taddeo’s state committee made and her federal committee accepted a prohibited contribution when the federal committee used video footage in an advertisement that was previously used in a state committee advertisement, and that the federal committee failed to disclose an in-kind contribution or timely disclose a disbursement. Taddeo, a former Florida state senator and a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election from October 2021 through June 2022, was a 2022 candidate for Florida’s 27th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chairman Sean J. Cooksey and Commissioners Allen J. Dickerson and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement of Reasons.

Litigation

End Citizens United PAC v. FEC (Case No. 22-5277) On January 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Per Curiam Judgment and Opinion affirming a September 2022 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that dismissed a suit from the Plaintiff challenging the Commission’s dismissal of two administrative complaints in MURs 7370 and 7496. In addressing the first MUR, the Court of Appeals held that the Commission’s dismissal was a judicially unreviewable exercise of the Commission’s prosecutorial discretion. Regarding the second MUR, the court held that while the Commission’s dismissal was reviewable, the lower court was correct in holding that it was not contrary to law.

Palmer v. FEC (Case No. 23-5216) On January 16, the Commission filed a Reply in Support of Its Motion for Summary Affirmance in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Ready to Win v. FEC (Case No. 23-5161) On January 17, the Commission filed a Brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Outreach

On January 17, the Commission hosted reporting and FECFile webinars for political action committees and party committees.

Employment opportunities

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Associate General Counsel for Litigation through February 5, 2024.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

January 23, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

January 25, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

February 6, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

February 8, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

January 24, 2024: The Commission will host reporting and FECFile webinars for candidate committees.

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

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

January 31: Year-End Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Semi-Annual, Quarterly and Monthly Reporting schedules.

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.