Week of September 30 – October 4, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Draft Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-13 (DSCC, Montanans for Tester, and Gallego for Arizona) On October 3, the Commission made public two draft advisory opinions: Draft A and Draft B. This week, the Commission made public five comments received on the advisory opinion request.

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-14 (DSCC and Rosen for Nevada) On October 3, the Commission made public a draft advisory opinion. This week, the Commission made public two comments received on the advisory opinion request.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7624

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENTS: Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC (IPIH); Alter City Group Holdings Limited (Alter City); Honest Profit International Limited (Honest Profit); CNMI Republican Party; Angel Demapan; Angel Demapan for House; Ralph G. Torres; Ralph G. Torres Campaign; Friends of Ralph; Lady Diann Torres Foundation; Demapan for Congress and Geralyn C. Delacruz, in her official capacity as treasurer (Demapan for Congress); and Hong Kong Entertainment
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that (1) IPIH, Alter City, Honest Profit, and Hong Kong Entertainment made and three local political committees or organizations accepted prohibited foreign national contributions in connection with elections in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and (2) CNMI Republican Party accepted prohibited foreign national contributions.
DISPOSITION: On July 25, 2019, the Commission found reason to believe that IPIH, Alter City Group Holdings Limited, Honest Profit International Limited, and Hong Kong Entertainment made and the Ralph G. Torres Campaign, Angel Demapan for House, and Friends of Ralph and their respective associated candidates in CNMI accepted prohibited foreign national contributions. The Commission dismissed the allegations that Lady Diann Torres Foundation violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and it found no reason to believe Demapan for Congress accepted foreign national contributions. On January 12, 2021, the Commission found reason to believe that the CNMI Republican Party, too, accepted prohibited foreign national contributions. The Commission entered into conciliation agreements providing for Honest Profit, Alter City, and CNMI Republican Party to pay civil penalties of $15,000 each, and for CNMI Republican Party also to disgorge $15,000 to the U.S. Treasury. On August 27, 2024, the Commission voted to take no further action as to Friends of Ralph, Torres, the Ralph G. Torres Campaign, Demapan, Angel Demapan for House, IPIH, and Hong Kong Entertainment, and closed the file.

MUR 8024

COMPLAINANT: Patricia Davis
RESPONDENTS: GrassoforCongress6 and Christen Korzyniewski, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Gary A. Grasso; Antonia “Antonella” Rovito; Filippo “Gigi” Rovito, Jr.; Gina T. Cademartori; Virginia A. Moya-DeLeon; Terese Dimaria; and Branko Palikuca
SUBJECT: The complaint and supplements to the complaint alleged that Rovito, Jr. made contributions in the names of his wife and three employees of the restaurant he owned to Grasso and the Committee. The complaint also alleged that the Committee accepted but did not report prohibited corporate in-kind contributions in the form of use of space, food and beverages for a fundraiser held in Rovito’s restaurant and a restaurant owned by Palikuca. The complaint also alleged that the Committee misreported the occupation and employer information for Dimaria. Finally, it alleged that Grasso likely did not have the personal funds to loan his campaign $250,000, which the Committee disclosed in reports filed with the Commission. Grasso was a 2022 primary candidate for Illinois’s 6th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chairman Sean J. Cooksey and Commissioner Allen J. Dickerson and Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub issued Statements of Reasons.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2024-06 (Requests to Modify or Redact Contributor Information) On October 3, the Commission made public a Draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding requests to modify or redact contributor information.

REG 2024-07 (Political Party Rules II) - Notification of Availability This week, the Commission made public 19 comments it received on a Notice of Availability of a Petition for Rulemaking submitted by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. The Petition asks the Commission to amend several of its regulations applicable to state, district, or local committees of political parties. To access the comments, visit the Commission’s website by referencing REG 2024-07.

Outreach

On October 1, Vice Chair Weintraub discussed campaign finance disclosure rules and the role of the Commission with a delegation of representatives from Germany’s ruling FDP party visiting the United States with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Employment opportunities

The Commission is accepting applications for the positions of Attorney-Adviser (Litigation) and 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 Attorney-Adviser (Ethics) through October 31, 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

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.