July reporting reminder (2019)

The following reports are due in July:

• All authorized committees of House and Senate candidates must file a quarterly report by July 15, 2019. The report covers financial activity from April 1 (or the day after the closing date of the last report) through June 30;
• Authorized committees of presidential candidates must file a report by July 15, if they are quarterly filers (the report covers financial activity from April 1 through June 30), or by July 20, if they are monthly filers (the report covers activity for the month of June);
• National party committees and other political committees following a monthly filing schedule must file a monthly report by July 20. This includes state, district and local party committees that engage in reportable “federal election activity” (see the “State, district and local party committees” section). The report covers activity for the month of June; and
• All other PACs and party committees must file a Mid-Year Report by July 31 (the report covers financial activity from January 1 through June 30).

Quarterly filers that participate in special elections may need to file pre- and post-election reports that are not accounted for above. Remember, reporting periods always begin with the closing date of the last report filed.

Reporting help is always just a phone call away at 800-424-9530. Select option 4 for technical assistance with electronic filing, option 5 to speak with the analyst who reviews your committee’s reports or option 6 to speak with an information specialist.

The Commission will also host several educational conferences and webinars over the next few months:

• Reporting and FECFile for candidate committees on June 26, 2019;
• Reporting and FECFile for PACs and parties on July 10, 2019;
• Chicago regional conference from August 27-28, 2019; and
• San Diego regional conference from October 29-30, 2019.

Notification of filing deadlines

In addition to publishing this article and the online reporting tables, the Commission notifies committees of filing deadlines through reporting reminders called prior notices. Prior notices are distributed exclusively by email, so every committee should ensure that the email address on its Statement of Organization (Form 1) is current. Each committee may list up to two email addresses. To amend the Form 1, electronic filers must submit the Form 1 filled out in its entirety. Paper filers should include only the committee’s name, address, FEC identification number and the updated or changed portions of the form. Committees may also use our online webform to update their information.

Treasurer’s responsibilities

The Commission provides prior notices of upcoming filing deadlines as a courtesy to help committees comply with the filing requirements set forth in the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and Commission regulations. Committee treasurers are responsible for filing committee reports on time. Not receiving a prior notice does not excuse committee treasurers for failing to comply with any filing deadline.

Filing electronically

Under the Commission’s mandatory electronic filing regulations, individuals and organizations required to file with the FEC that receive contributions or make expenditures, including independent expenditures, aggregating in excess of $50,000 in any calendar year—or have reason to expect to do so—must file all reports and statements electronically.

Reports filed electronically must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing date. Electronic filers who file on paper or submit an electronic report that does not pass the Commission’s validation program by that time on the filing deadline will be considered nonfilers and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines.

The Commission’s electronic filing software, FECFile, is free and can be downloaded from the website. All reports filed after August 15, 2018, must be filed in version 8.3 of the electronic filing software. Reports filed in previous versions of the software will not be accepted. Filers may also use commercial or privately developed software as long as the software meets the Commission’s format specifications, which are available on the Commission’s website. Committees using commercial software should contact their vendors to ensure their software meets the latest specifications.

Timely filing for paper filers

Registered and certified mail

Reports sent by registered or certified mail are considered to be filed on the date of their postmark. Accordingly, quarterly reports sent by registered or certified mail must be postmarked on or before the filing deadline to be considered timely filed. A committee sending its reports by registered certified mail should keep its mailing receipt with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) postmark as proof of mailing, because the USPS does not keep complete records of items sent by certified or registered mail.

Overnight mail

Reports sent via overnight mail will be considered timely filed if the report is postmarked on or before the filing deadline. “Overnight mail” includes Priority Mail or Priority Express Mail having a delivery confirmation, or an overnight service with which the report is scheduled for next business day delivery and is recorded in the service’s online tracking system. Note that “Express Mail” as referred to in FEC regulations has been renamed “Priority Express Mail” by the USPS. Reports filed via overnight mail will be considered timely filed if the report is received by the delivery service on or before the mailing/filing deadline. A committee sending its reports by Priority Mail or Priority Express Mail, or by an overnight delivery service, should keep its proof of mailing or other means of transmittal of its reports.

Other means of filing

Reports sent by other means—including first class mail and courier—must be received by the FEC before close of business on the filing deadline. If the deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, such filers should plan accordingly and file reports by the close of business on the last business day before the filing deadline. Forms may be downloaded from the FEC's website.

Authorized committees of candidates

House and Senate candidates

All campaigns that have a reporting obligation must file quarterly reports. Generally, an individual becomes a candidate for federal office, thus triggering registration and reporting obligations, when his or her campaign exceeds $5,000 in either contributions received or expenditures made. If the campaign has not exceeded the $5,000 threshold, it is not required to file reports.

Presidential candidates

All presidential authorized committees must file on either a monthly or a quarterly schedule during 2019.

State, district and local party committees

State, district and local party committees that engage in reportable “federal election activity” must file on a monthly schedule in 2019. Committees that do not engage in reportable “federal election activity” may file on either a monthly or a semi-annual schedule in 2019.

National party committees

National committees of political parties must file on a monthly schedule in 2019.

Other political committees

Political committees (PACs), including separate segregated funds, committees with non-contribution accounts (also sometimes called “Hybrid” PACs), independent expenditure-only committees (Super PACs) and other nonconnected committees that filed on a quarterly basis in 2018 file on a semi-annual basis in 2019. Monthly filers continue on the monthly schedule.

Changing filing frequency

Committees able to change their filing frequency (e.g., PACs and state and local parties not engaged in reportable FEA) may do so only once a calendar year. The committee must notify the Commission of the change in writing (or electronically, if an electronic filer). The Commission will respond with a letter approving the new filing schedule.

Additional information

For more information on 2019 reporting dates:

• Call and request the reporting tables from the FEC at 800-424-9530 (option 6) or 202-694-1100; or
• Visit the FEC’s Dates and deadlines web page to view the reporting tables online.

Resources

• 2019 reporting dates
• FEC electronic filing