Week of November 14-18, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

On November 15 and 17, the Commission met in executive session.

The Commission voted to cancel the open meeting scheduled for November 17.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7756R

COMPLAINANTS: Mark D. Smith and FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Americas PAC and Tom Donelson, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: These matters involved allegations that the Committee failed to timely file independent expenditure reports in 2020. The complaint alleged that the Committee ran a paid radio advertisement attacking Democrats generally as well as attacking the Democratic incumbent for Iowa’s First Congressional District, Representative Abby Finkenauer, but failed to file a 48-Hour Report for the ad. Additionally, 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 file three 48-Hour Reports to support six independent expenditures totaling $620,832 that were disclosed on the Committee’s Amended 2020 April Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $50,400.

MUR 7939

COMPLAINANT: Thomas Leland Schroeder
RESPONDENT: Carolina Senate Fund and Lisa Lisker, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to file a required 48-hour independent expenditure report in connection with North Carolina’s 2022 primary election for U.S. Senate.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter. The Commission observed the low dollar amount at issue and the remedial action taken by Committee, which included filing the required disclosure report.

MUR 7942

COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust
RESPONDENTS: Rudy Salas for Congress and Josie Olsen, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Rudy Salas for Assembly; and Rudy Salas
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee used state campaign resources in connection with the candidate’s federal election. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the Committee used campaign signs paid for by Rudy Salas for Assembly, the candidate’s state campaign committee, at an event announcing the candidate’s 2022 federal candidacy. Salas was a 2022 candidate for California’s 22nd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter. The Commission observed the low dollar amount at issue.

MUR 7950

COMPLAINANT: C2G Strategies, LLC
RESPONDENTS: Friends of Jessica Mason and Kavin Jagnarain, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Jessica Mason
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to pay a $665 invoice billed by the complainant for services rendered and failed to report this expense as an outstanding debt on its campaign finance reports to the Commission. Mason was a 2022 candidate for Texas’s 30th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter. The Commission observed the low dollar amount at issue and the remedial action taken by Committee, which included payment of the outstanding debt in question.

Administrative Fines

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

AF 4289 Jerry Ford for Texas and Mrs. Sandra Marie Ford, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission terminated the proceedings and closed the file.

AF 4302 Jerry Ford for Texas and Mrs. Sandra Marie Ford, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $212.

Commissioner Statements

On November 17, Commissioner Sean J. Cooksey issued a Statement on the Commission’s Settlement and Dismissal of Josh Hawley for Senate v. FEC.

Rulemakings and agency procedures

REG 2011-02 Draft Final Rule and Explanation and Justification for Internet Communications Disclaimers. On November 10, the Commission made public a Draft Final Rule and Explanation and Justification for Internet Communications.

REG 2021-01: Draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Candidate Salaries On November 10, the Commission made public a Draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Candidate Salaries.

Public Disclosure

On November 14, the Office of the Inspector General released a report on Management and Performance Challenges Facing the FEC in FY 2023 and an Independent Audit Report of the FEC’s FY 22 Financial Statement.

On November 15, the Commission released its Agency Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2022.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 22-3319) On October 28, Plaintiff filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Castro v. FEC (Case No. 22-2176) On November 14, the Commission filed a Reply Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of its Partial Motion to Dismiss; on November 16, Plaintiff filed a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Motion for Preliminary Injunction, and a Motion for Hearing and Expedited Briefing Schedule; and on November 17, the Commission filed an Opposition to Plaintiff’s Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Plaintiff filed a Reply to the Commission’s Memorandum in Opposition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Josh Hawley for Senate v. FEC (Case No. 22-1275) On November 16, the parties filed a Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

National Republican Senatorial Committee et al. v. FEC et al. (Case No. 22-639) On November 4, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Cincinnati Division.

Outreach

On November 16, Chairman Allen Dickerson and Vice Chair Dara Lindenbaum met virtually with the leadership team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to discuss the team's findings on the 2022 U.S. midterm elections and campaign finance issues.

On November 18, Chairman Dickerson was the keynote speaker at NABPAC's 2022 Biennial Post-Election Conference in Palm Beach, FL.

Upcoming Commission meetings

November 29, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

December 1, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

November 30, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar on Winding Down the Campaign and Post-General Reporting.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

December 8: 30-Day Post-General Reports are due. For more information, see the Pre- and Post-General 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.