Week of October 28 – November 1, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

On October 29 and 30, the Commission met in executive session.

The Commission voted to cancel the open meeting scheduled for October 30.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7892

COMPLAINANT: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Noah Bookbinder
RESPONDENTS: Turning Point Action (TPA); and Austin Smith
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that TPA, a tax-exempt organization that operates under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, failed to disclose contributors when it reported making more than $1.4 million in independent expenditures in 2020. The complaint alleged further that TPA solicited donations for the purpose of furthering an independent expenditure and did not disclose contributors who donated for that purpose. Finally, the complaint alleged that Smith, TPA’s National Field Director and the signatory of the organization’s reports filed with the Commission, was liable in his official and personal capacity for TPA’s violations.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe that TPA failed to disclose contributions totaling $33,795 on its 2020 October Quarterly and Year-End Reports, and it entered into a conciliation agreement providing for TPA to pay a civil penalty of $18,000. The Commission dismissed the allegations in connection with Smith. Chairman Sean J. Cooksey and Commissioners Allen Dickerson and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III, Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub, and Commissioners Shana M. Broussard and Dara Lindenbaum issued Statements of Reasons.

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 4694 Environment America Inc. Voter Action (abbv. 'Environment America Voter Action') and Wendy Wendlandt, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $214.

AF 4695 Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee and Patrick Bailey, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $499.

Litigation

DCCC v. FEC (Case No. 24-2935) On October 25, Plaintiff filed a Reply in Support of the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

National Republican Senatorial Committee, et al. v. FEC, et al. (Case No. 24-3051) On October 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a Mandate.

FEC v. Rivera (Case No. 22-11437) On October 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an Order granting Appellant David Rivera’s motion to transfer to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida the matter of appellate attorney’s fees.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2024-09 (Input Costs for Internet Communications) On October 23, the Commission voted to instruct the Office of General Counsel to draft a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to consider whether to revise the Commission’s regulation addressing internet communications at 11 C.F.R. § 100.26 to delineate the scope of that regulation with respect to which input costs are part of the communication.

Outreach

On October 28, Vice Chair Weintraub spoke to a class at Georgetown University’s Democracy and Governance Program on campaign finance issues and the work of the FEC.

On Tuesday, October 29, Commissioner Broussard spoke at the GovAI Summit on the topic of Ensuring Fair Elections in the Age of AI.

On November 1, Vice Chair Weintraub met with Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro to discuss political finance and the work of the FEC.

Press releases

FEC cites committees for failure to file October Quarterly Report (issued October 28)

FEC certifies additional matching funds for Mike Pence for President (issued October 29)

FEC cautions against fraudulent email (issued October 31)

FEC cites committees for failure to file 12-Day Pre-General Report (issued November 1)

FEC: Check the return address of any email from the agency*** (issued November 1)

Employment opportunities

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Procurement Director through November 6, 2024.

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Associate General Counsel for Enforcement through November 12, 2024.

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Assistant General Counsel for Administrative Law through November 22, 2024.

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Attorney-Adviser (Administrative Law) through November 30, 2024.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

November 13, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

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

December 10, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

December 12, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

November 20, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to 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 5: 30-Day Post-General Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Pre- and Post-General Reporting schedule.

Additional research materials

Election Dates. The Commission has posted 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 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 X and YouTube

Follow @FEC on X 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.