Week of May 1-5, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

On May 2, the Commission met in executive session.

On May 4, the Commission held an open meeting.

Advisory Opinions

Opinion Issued

Advisory Opinion 2023-03 (Colorado Republican State Central Committee) On May 4, the Commission approved Advisory Opinion 2023-03 in response to a request from the Colorado Republican State Central Committee. The Commission concluded that the funds received and spent to litigate the constitutionality of Proposition 108, a Colorado law that requires major political parties to nominate candidates for the general election either through a semi-open primary or a closed convention process, would not be contributions and expenditures under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), because they would not be made for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office. The Commission concluded further that, under the facts presented in the request, the legal fund would not be engaged in federal election activity or otherwise engaged in activity in connection with a federal election. The Commission received a comment on the draft advisory opinion. Chair Dara Lindenbaum, Vice Chair Sean J. Cooksey, Commissioner Allen J. Dickerson and Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Concurring Statement.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7527

COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability and Trust
RESPONDENT: News for Democracy; and News for Democracy LLC
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that News for Democracy, a nonprofit organized under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, failed to­ organize, register and report to the Commission as a political committee in connection with its 2018 election activity.
DISPOSITION: On October 22, 2022, the Commission found reason to believe that News for Democracy failed to report independent expenditures and include appropriate disclaimers on its advertising, and it voted to take no action in connection with an allegation that News for Democracy accepted foreign national contributions. The Commission had an insufficient number of votes to find reason to believe that the respondents failed to register and report to the Commission as political committees. On February 28, 2023, the Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for News for Democracy to pay a civil penalty of $25,000. Commissioner Allen Dickerson issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7974

COMPLAINANT: Nancy Hernandez
RESPONDENT: Aarika for Congress and Yang Deng, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The compliant alleged that the Committee failed to: 1) accurately disclose financial activity in campaign finance reports filed in 2020 and 2021, 2) amend disclosure reports to respond to Requests for Additional Information sent by the Commission, which outlined mathematical discrepancies and inadequate statements of purpose on certain disbursements, and 3) provide adequate and/or accurate occupation and employer information for more than 20 contributors who are listed as unemployed. Aarika Samone Rhodes was a 2022 candidate for California’s 32nd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations that the Committee misstated financial activity and failed to properly itemize its disbursements. The Commission found no reason to believe the Committee failed to accurately report contributor information because the available information does not indicate that the Committee misreported the employment of its contributors.

MUR 8020

COMPLAINANT: William Gunnar Truit
RESPONDENT: Pat Ryan for Congress and Wyatt Brown, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Patrick Ryan
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Ryan failed to file a Statement of Candidacy designating a principal campaign committee for the special election in New York’s 19th Congressional District for the 2021-22 term. The complaint further alleged that Ryan used the Committee, which is Ryan’s designated principal campaign committee for election in New York’s 18th Congressional District, to simultaneously solicit contributions for Ryan’s concurrent campaigns in the 18th and 19th Districts.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that Ryan failed to designate separate committees to solicit funds for two campaigns or that the Committee concurrently solicited contributions to two different campaigns. The Commission dismissed the remaining allegations, but admonished Ryan for failing to file a Statement of Candidacy.

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 1095

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: GOA Victory Fund and John Velleco, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to timely file one 24-Hour Report totaling $30,000 to support one independent expenditure disclosed on its Amended 2022 July Monthly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and distribute a written policy to vendors involved with independent expenditures detailing procedures for good faith estimates and invoices; and 2) pay a civil penalty of $2,250.

Audits

Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Latinos for America First. On May 4, the Commission approved an Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Latinos for America First, covering campaign finance activity from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020. The Commission approved findings related to Misstatement of Financial Activity, Increased Activity, and Disclosure of Occupation and/or Name of Employer.

Regulations and agency procedures

Revised Audit Procedures for Committees that Do Not Receive Public Funds. On May 4, the Commission approved four documents that set forth a new audit process for political committees that do not receive public funds and revise other procedures to conform with the proposed audit procedure. The goal of the new audit process is to balance efficiency, procedural protections for audited committees, orderly development of the law, transparency, and encouraging voluntary compliance with the Act. The Commission received one comment on the revised procedures and Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued Comments.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 22-5339) On April 28, the Commission filed a Brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Outreach

On May 2 and 3, the Commission held a webinar for political party committees.

On May 3, Chair Dara Lindenbaum discussed campaign finance disclosure rules and the role of the Commission with an Indonesian delegation visiting the United States as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

On May 4, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub participated in the Association of American Law Schools’ Conference on “Rebuilding Democracy and the Rule of Law.”

On May 5, Commissioners Shana M. Broussard and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III participated in a discussion on digital disclosure laws at the CampaignTech East conference hosted by Campaigns & Elections in National Harbor, MD.

Press releases

FEC approves revised audit procedures, advisory opinion and Audit Division recommendation memorandum (issued May 4)

Employment opportunities

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of IT Specialist (Customer Support) through May 12, 2023. For more information, see the job posting at https://www.usajobs.gov/job/722452700.

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Deputy Associate General Counsel for Enforcement through May 24, 2023. For more information, see the job posting at https://www.usajobs.gov/job/723398200.

Public Disclosure

The Commission has debuted its 2024 Presidential Map, listing data for presidential candidates who have reported more than $100,000 in receipts from sources outside of the candidate’s own funds. The map displays each candidate's overall receipts, including contributions from the candidate, individuals, and other political committees as well as transfers from the candidate's prior federal campaigns.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

May 16, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 18, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

May 31, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

June 1, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

May 16-17, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for candidate committees.

June 7, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for nonconnected PACs.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

May 20: May Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Monthly Reporting schedule.

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 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.

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

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.