Week of September 27-October 1, 2021
Commission meetings and hearings
On September 28 and 30, the Commission met in executive session.
On September 30, the Commission held an open meeting.
Advisory Opinions
Opinion Issued
Advisory Opinion 2021-09 (Certified Voter). On September 30, the Commission approved Advisory Opinion Request 2021-09 in response to a request by Certified Voter, LLC, which intends to sell services to political committees whereby it creates customized “sponsored” versions of the committees’ own political advertisements. As proposed in the request, a contributor would make a contribution to a political committee and would then be presented with the option to be identified as the “sponsor” of an ad already created by the political committee. The requestor would then create a brief message to be appended to the ad, including the sponsor’s name and hometown. The Commission concluded that Certified Voter may sell sponsored advertisement services to political committees for a commercially reasonable fee as proposed because in doing so it does not make any in-kind contribution to client political committees. On September 27, the Commission received Supplemental Material from the requestor, and during the open meeting discussion, the Commission heard from the requestor.
Enforcement
The Commission made public six closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.
COMPLAINANTS: Self-Reported; American Democracy Legal Fund and Brad Woodhouse; and Campaign Legal Center and Margaret Christ
RESPONDENTS: Ohio First PAC and Julie Dozier, in her official capacity as treasurer (Ohio First); Majority Strategies, LLC (Majority Strategies); Grassroots Targeting LLC (Grassroots Targeting); Renacci for US Senate and Russell Corwin, in his official capacity as treasurer (Renacci Committee); and MeToo Ohio and Lisa Lisker, in her official capacity as treasurer (MeToo Ohio)
SUBJECT: These matters involved allegations relating to independent expenditures in support of Jim Renacci or in opposition to Renacci’s opponent Sherrod Brown in the 2018 Senate election in Ohio. Ohio First made independent expenditures before the 2018 Ohio Republican Primary and MeToo Ohio made such independent expenditures before the 2018 Ohio General Election. In MUR 7438, Ohio First filed a sua sponte submission and American Democracy Legal Fund filed a complaint stating that Ohio First failed to report independent expenditures in support of Renacci on 24- and 48-Hour Reports and on its 2018 Pre-Primary Report. The complaint in MUR 7476 further alleged that Ohio First failed to report in-kind contributions from its vendors Majority Strategies and Grassroots Targeting, failed to report debts and obligations, and made prohibited contributions to the Renacci Committee in the form of coordinated communications that the Renacci Committee allegedly accepted. Finally, the complaint in MUR 7542 alleged that MeToo Ohio failed to report in-kind contributions from its vendor Majority Strategies, LLC and made prohibited contributions to the Renacci Committee in the form of coordinated communications.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe that Ohio First failed to timely file a 2018 Pre-Primary report and report its independent expenditures, and entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Ohio First to pay a civil penalty of $15,000. The Commission found no reason to believe that Majority Strategies or Grassroots Targeting violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), observing that both appeared to be commercial vendors that were extending credit in their ordinary course of business. The Commission further noted that regardless of whether Majority Strategies’ or Grassroots Targeting’s extension of credit to Ohio First or MeToo Ohio was in the ordinary course of business, any potential contributions would have been permissible, and neither Majority Strategies nor Grassroots Targeting would have had reporting obligations. The Commission closed the file with respect to the Renacci Committee and MeToo Ohio.
COMPLAINANT: Josephine Thomas
RESPONDENTS: Friends of Dana Balter and Sterling Talob Waters, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Dana Balter
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that salary payments made by the Committee to 2020 federal candidate Dana Balter of New York’s 24th Congressional District exceeded the amount permitted by law and constituted a prohibited personal use of campaign funds.
DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegations in the complaint, observing that, based on Balter’s 2018 earned income, the Committee did not exceed the total amount of salary payments to Balter that were permitted by the Act and Commission regulations. The Commission further noted that the while the Committee did make $11,114.96 in impermissible salary payments to Balter in 2019 before the qualifying deadline to run in the 2020 primary election for Congress from New York, those payments were subsequently refunded.
COMPLAINANT: Richard Webb
RESPONDENT: Andy Good
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that billboards advocating for a presidential candidate in Hocking County, Ohio, lacked appropriate disclaimers, stating “Paid for by Hocking County Business Owners” and included “care of Andy Good” in small letters.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.
COMPLAINANT: Rick Buchanan
RESPONDENTS: Jeanne Capello and The Mecklenburg Sun
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Capello paid to run a “partisan” advertisement featuring federal Democratic candidates in The Mecklenburg Sun without a required disclaimer
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Commission made public six closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: LaTurner for Senate and DeAnn Hill, in her 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 that the Committee failed to disclose $443,009.16 in additional disbursements on its original 2019 October Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to attend an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $8,400.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: BLACK AMERICA’S POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE and Margaret Ekam, in her 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 that the Commission failed to timely file two 48-Hour Reports totaling $54,494.00 to support four independent expenditures disclosed on its 2020 12-Day Pre-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $2,725.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Poder NC Action
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that Poder NC Action failed to timely file two 48-Hour Reports totaling $132,671.24 to support eight independent expenditures disclosed on its Amended 2020 October Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: Poder NC Action agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual to include procedures for disclosing independent expenditures and internal controls, 2) complete an FEC training, and 3) pay a civil penalty of $6,575.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: International Longshore and Warehouse Union -- Political Action Fund and Edwin R. Ferris, in his 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 that the Committee failed to timely file one 24-Hour Report totaling $31,989.48 to support one independent expenditure disclosed on its 2020 30-Day Post-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual to include procedures for disclosing independent expenditures and internal controls, and 2) pay a civil penalty of $2,400.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Big Sky 55+
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that Big Sky 55+ failed to file on 48-Hour Report totaling $16,717.18 to support four independent expenditures and one 24-Hour Report totaling $33,336.42 to support three independent expenditures disclosed on its Amended 2018 Year-End Report.
DISPOSITION: Big Sky 55+ agreed to 1) certify that its Executive Director will participate in an FEC training program and 2) pay a civil penalty of $3,350.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: MI Planned Parenthood Votes and John Thomas Keserich, in his 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 that the Committee failed to timely file one 48-Hour Report totaling $245,306.71 to support five independent expenditures disclosed on its Amended 2020 October Quarterly Report
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual to include procedures for disclosing independent expenditures and internal controls, and 2) pay a civil penalty of $12,150.
Administrative Fines
The Commission made public eight closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine search system.
AF 3727 Renacci for US Senate and Russell Corwin, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $8,050.
AF 3740 Malarsie House Run 2018 and Terry Blevins, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,492.
AF 3914 Darren Duncan for Congress and Emily Duncan, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,249.
AF 4032 Christine Mann for Congress and Mari Ramirez, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,997.
AF 4202 Hastings for Congress and Tomas Eduardo McIntosh, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,203.
AF 4219 Alek for Oregon and Chris Marston, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,539.
AF 4220 Kim Klacik for Congress and Bradley T. Crate, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $12,081.
AF 4223 Friends of Mark Warner and Katherine M. Buchanan, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,781.
Public Funding
The Commission approved on tally a Statement of Reasons that Dr. Jill Stein and Jill Stein for President must repay $175,272 within 30 days to the United States Treasury, representing surplus public funds in the Committee’s accounts and public funds received in excess of entitlement. The Commission had originally made this determination in its Final Audit Report on Jill Stein for President.
Regulations and agency procedures
REG 2021-02 (Subvendor Reporting) Comments are due by October 4, 2021, on the Commission’s Notification of Availability in the Federal Register that seeks public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by the Campaign Legal Center and the Center on Science & Technology Policy at Duke University. The petitioners ask the Commission to amend its existing regulations to require political committees and persons who make independent expenditures and electioneering communications to itemize all expenditures or disbursements made on behalf of the reporting entity, including those made by an agent, independent contractor, vendor, or subvendor. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically (reference REG 2021-02) via the Commission’s website.
Litigation
Giffords v. FEC (Case No. 19-1192) On September 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an Order denying the Commission’s Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment and granting Plaintiff’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment.
Ted Cruz for Senate, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 21-12) On September 30, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an Order that further consideration of the question of jurisdiction is postponed to the hearing of the case on the merits.
Outreach
On September 28, the Commission issued the Statistical Summary of Six-Month Campaign Activity of the 2021-2022 Election Cycle.
On September 27-29, Deputy CIO of Enterprise Architecture Wei Luo spoke at the Amazon Web Service (AWS) DC Summit in Washington, DC.
On September 29, the Commission hosted reporting and FECFile webinars.
Press Releases
FEC approves advisory opinion, repayment determination, and campaign guide (issued September 30)
Upcoming educational programs
October 6, 2021: The Commission will host a FECConnect On Topic session, the FEC Virtual Conference Preview.
October 27, 2021: The Commission will host Candidate 101: Getting Started, an introduction to the campaign finance laws and regulations that apply to federal candidates and campaigns, covering topics such as candidate registration, treasurer responsibilities, contribution limits and prohibitions, and basic reporting requirements.
November 16-17, 2021: The Commission will host a Virtual Conference online via Zoom.
For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.
Upcoming Commission meetings
October 13, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
October 14, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
Upcoming reporting due dates
October 15: October Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2021 Quarterly Reporting schedule.
October 20: October Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2021 Monthly Reporting schedule.
Status of agency operations
See the Commission’s statement on the status of agency operations, updated on April 15, 2021. At this stage, most agency staff remain in telework status and the Commission’s office remains closed to visitors. See also the agency’s Workplace Safety Plan, dated May 6, 2021.
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.
2020 Presidential General Election Results and Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are 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 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 currently. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.
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- Judith Ingram
- Press Officer
- Judith Ingram
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- Christian Hilland
- Deputy Press Officer
- Christian Hilland
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- Myles Martin
- Public Affairs Specialist
- Myles Martin