Week of October 23 – 27, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Draft Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinion Request 2023-06 (Texas Majority PAC) This week, the Commission made public two draft advisory opinions: Draft A and Draft B.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1107

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Friends of Jim Clyburn and James Bennett, 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 disclose $62,102.09 on its original 2022 12-Day Pre-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $3,500.

ADR 1111

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Sheila Cherfilus McCormick for Congress, Inc. and Dr. Olubisi Aina, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible contributions/transfers; mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, failure to properly itemize disbursements; and problems with reporting financial activity, and failure to disclose adequate purposes for disbursements, totaling $116,553.95 on its 2021 12-Day Pre-Special Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) amend relevant reports to address the 2021-2022 election cycle Request For Additional Information from the Commission, 2) certify annually that the Committee continued to retain the services of a compliance firm for two years, 3) participate in an FEC training program, and 4) pay a civil penalty of $5,350.

ADR 1115

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Democratic Party of Orange County Fed PAC and David Gould, 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 remedy excessive contributions totaling $70,000, which were received during the 2022 calendar year, within the permissible timeframes.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $5,200.

ADR 1119

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Latinos for America First and Moni Casarez, 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 understated its receipts and disbursements in the amount of $336,184 during the 2019-2020 election cycle, and failed to disclose or inadequately disclosed occupation and/or name of employer information for 129 contributions from individuals, totaling $39,340.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) certify annually for two years that it retained the services of a compliance team, 2) participate in an FEC training program, and 3) pay a civil penalty of $9,500.

Regulations and agency procedures

Proposed Directive Regarding Investigations Conducted by the Office of General Counsel. On October 26, the Commission made public a revised draft directive.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 23-3163) On October 20, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On October 23, Chair Dara Lindenbaum spoke with a group of students in the Democracy and Governance graduate program at Georgetown University.

On October 25, the Commission held a seminar for candidate and political party committees at its headquarters in Washington, DC.

Employment opportunities

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Contract Specialist through November 9, 2023.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

November 1, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

November 2, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

November 14, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

November 16, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

November 15, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host webinars on Independent Expenditures and Reporting Independent Expenditures using FECFile.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

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

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.