Week of September 23 - 27, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Requests Received

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-13 (DSCC, Montanans for Tester, and Gallego for Arizona) On September 23, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request from the DSCC, Montanans for Tester (the principal campaign committee for Sen. Jon Tester), and Gallego for Arizona (the principal campaign committee for Rep. Ruben Gallego). The DSCC proposes to form separate joint fundraising committees with each candidate committee. The requestors ask whether the joint fundraising committees may pay for television ads that discuss their respective candidates and solicit joint fundraising contributions. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than October 3) and must issue a response no later than 20 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by October 8, 2024. The requestors granted an extension of time to October 11, 2024.

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-14 (DSCC and Rosen for Nevada) On September 23, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request from the DSCC and Rosen for Nevada, the principal campaign committee of Senator Jacky Rosen, who is running for reelection in Nevada. The requestors ask generally whether they may split the cost of hybrid television advertisements and then, with respect to three proposed television advertisements, whether certain audio and visual components of the advertisements serve as party or candidate advocacy. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than October 3) and must issue a response no later than 20 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, October 8, 2024. The requestors granted an extension of time to October 11, 2024.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1164

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Madison Project, Inc. and Paul Kilgore, 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 or inadequately disclosed the occupation and name of employer information for 514 contributions from individuals, totaling $184,782, during calendar years 2019 and 2020.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program.

ADR 1167

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: NATSO Inc. NATSO PAC and Lisa J. Mullings, 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 $196,454.99 in additional receipts on its 2022 Year-End Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $7,250.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2024-01 (Candidate Security) - Final Rule and Explanation and Justification On September 25, the Commission published a Final Rule and Explanation and Justification in the Federal Register. The Final Rule amends the Commission’s regulations regarding the use of campaign funds to pay for security measures for federal candidates, officeholders, and members of their family and staff. The rule also codifies several Commission advisory opinions that authorize the use of campaign funds to pay for certain security measures and addresses additional issues raised in those advisory opinions. The Final Rule is effective on January 1, 2025.

Interpretive Rule Regarding 52 U.S.C. § 30124 (Artificial Intelligence in Campaign Ads) On September 26, the Commission published an Interpretive Rule in the Federal Register clarifying that the provisions at 52 U.S.C. § 30124 and 11 CFR 110.16 apply irrespective of the technology used to conduct fraudulent misrepresentation, including content generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The Interpretive Rule is effective immediately.

REG 2023-02 (Artificial Intelligence in Campaign Ads) - Notice of Disposition On September 26, the Commission published a Notice of Disposition of a Petition for Rulemaking in the Federal Register. The Petition had asked the Commission to revise the existing fraudulent misrepresentation rule to make clear that the related statutory prohibition applies to deliberately deceptive campaign ads using artificial intelligence. After considering the Petition and the public comments received in response, the Commission is not initiating a rulemaking at this time.

Litigation

America First Legal Foundation v. FEC (Case No. 24-517) On September 23, the parties filed a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v FEC (Case No. 22-3319) On September 23, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order that the complaint and the case be dismissed.

Colleen Oliver and Steve Oliver v. FEC (Case No. 24-1166) On September 23, the Commission filed an Answer to Plaintiffs’ Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

FEC v. Rivera (Case No. 22-11437) On September 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a Judgment.

Outreach

On September 25, the Commission hosted FECFile and reporting webinars for candidate committees.

On September 25, the Commission issued the Statistical Summary of 18-Month Campaign Activity of the 2023-2024 Election Cycle.

Press releases

District Court issues memorandum opinion, order in Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 22-3319) (issued September 23)

Employment opportunities

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Associate General Counsel for Litigation through October 4, 2024.

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Attorney-Adviser (Litigation) through October 15, 2024.

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Lead Human Resources Specialist through October 15, 2024.

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Auditor through October 18, 2024.

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

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

October 8, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

October 10, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

October 29, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

October 30, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

October 9, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to host FECFile and reporting webinars for PACs and party committees.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

October 15: October Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Quarterly Reporting schedule.

October 20: October Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Monthly Reporting schedule.

October 24: 12-Day Pre-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.