Pennsylvania special election reporting: 7th district (2018)
Pennsylvania will hold a Special General Election on November 6, 2018, to fill the 7th congressional district House seat vacated by Representative Patrick L. Meehan. Under state law, parties can nominate candidates by conventions/caucuses. The state deadline for political parties to file nomination certificates is September 17, 2018.
Filing schedule for candidates
Candidate committees involved in the Special General Election (11/06/18) must follow this reporting schedule:
| Report | Close of books | Mailing deadline | Filing deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-General | October 17, 2018 | October 22, 2018 | October 25, 2018 |
| 48 Hour Notices | October 18 - November 03, 2018 | ||
| Post-General | November 26, 2018 | December 06, 2018 | December 06, 2018 |
| Year-End | December 31, 2018 | January 31, 2019 | January 31, 2019 |
Please note that the FEC does not have authority to extend filing deadlines, even when they fall on weekends. Additional details are available at https://transition.fec.gov/pages/report_notices/2018/pa07.shtml [PDF].
Filing schedule for PACs and party committees
Quarterly-filing PACs and party committees that participate in this election generally follow the schedule outlined above, but do not file 48-hour notices for last-minute contributions. PACs and party committees that file monthly must continue to file according to their regular filing schedule. Additional details are available in the Federal Register notice.
Filing electronically
Reports filed electronically must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the applicable filing deadline. Electronic filers who instead file on paper or submit an electronic report that does not pass the Commission’s validation program by the filing deadline will be considered nonfilers and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines.
Timely filing for paper filers
Registered and certified mail
Pre-election reports sent by registered or certified mail must be postmarked on or before the mailing deadline to be considered timely filed; other reports must be postmarked by the filing deadline. See 52 U.S.C. §§ 30104(a)(2)(A)(i), (a)(4)(A)(ii), (a)(5); 11 CFR 100.19(b)(1), 104.5(a)(2), (e). A committee sending its reports by certified or registered 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. 11 CFR 104.5(i).
Overnight mail
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. “Overnight mail” includes Priority 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.
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. 52 U.S.C. § 30104(a)(5) and 11 CFR 100.19 and 104.5(e).
Other means of filing
Reports sent by other means—including first class mail and courier— must be received by the FEC before the Commission’s close of business on the filing deadline. 11 CFR 100.19 and 104.5(e). (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 are available for downloading and printing at the FEC’s website at https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/forms/.
48-hour contribution notices
A participating candidate’s principal campaign committee must file a 48-hour notice each time it receives a contribution of $1,000 or more per source from October 18 through November 3 for the Special General Election.
24- and 48-hour reports of independent expenditures
Political committees and other persons must file 24-hour reports of independent expenditures that aggregate $1,000 or more from October 18 through November 4 for the Special General Election. This requirement is addition to that of filing 48-hour reports of independent expenditures that aggregate $10,000 or more with respect to an election up to and including the 20th day before an election. The 48-hour reporting requirement applies to independent expenditures that aggregate at or above $10,000 prior to October 18.
Electioneering communications
The 60-day electioneering communications period for the Special General Election runs from September 7 through November 6.
Disclosure of lobbyist bundling activity
Campaign committees, party committees and leadership PACs that are otherwise required to file reports in connection with the special elections must simultaneously file FEC Form 3L if they receive two or more bundled contributions from any lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC that aggregate in excess of $18,200 during the special election reporting periods.
Citations
Statute
52 U.S.C. § 30104(a)
Filing requirements
Regulations
11 CFR 100.19
Timely filed reports; electronically filed reports
11 CFR 100.29(a)
Definition of electioneering communication
11 CFR 104.4(b)(2) and (c) and 109.10(c) and (d)
Reports of independent expenditures made at any time up to and including the 20th day before an election and those made less than 20 days, but more than 24 hours before the day of an election
11 CFR 104.5(a), (c), (e), (f), (h), and (i)
Filing dates for candidates; filing dates for committees that are not authorized committees of candidates; date of filing; 48-hour notice of contributions; special election reports; retaining proof of mailing
11 CFR 104.18(a)(2) and (e)
Mandatory electronic filing and validation program
11 CFR 104.22(a)(5)(v) and (b)
Disclosure of bundling by lobbyist/registrants and lobbyist/registrant PACs for runoffs and special elections; reporting requirement
11 CFR 110.17(e)(2)
Lobbyist/registrant and lobbyist/registrant PAC contribution bundling disclosure threshold