Week of June 19-23, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

On June 21 and 22, the Commission met in executive session.

On June 22, the Commission held an open meeting.

Enforcement

The Commission made public one closed case, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 8073

COMPLAINANT: Campaign Legal Center
RESPONDENTS: Vista Pacifica Enterprises, Inc.; and Stop Socialism in OC and David Satterfield, in his official capacity as treasurer (Stop Socialism in OC)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that while it was a federal government contractor, Vista Pacifica Enterprises, Inc. made a prohibited contribution to Stop Socialism in OC.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe that Vista Pacifica Enterprises, Inc., had made a prohibited contribution while it was a federal contractor and entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Vista Pacifica Enterprises, Inc. to pay a civil penalty of $19,000. The Commission found no reason to believe Stop Socialism in OC knowingly solicited a prohibited federal contractor contribution.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1100

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: All For Our Country and Dustin McIntyre, 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 timely file a 48-Hour Report totaling $39,400 to support an independent expenditure disclosed on its 2022 12-Day Pre-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $1,975.

ADR 1101

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: True Democrats Only PAC and Brandon Philipczyk, 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 timely file three 48-Hour Reports disseminated between July 12, 2022 to July 28, 2022, totaling $63,517.50, to support six independent expenditures disclosed on its 2022 12-Day Pre-Primary Report
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $3,150.

Administrative Fines

The Commission made public five closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine search system.

AF 4388 Royce White for Congress and Office of Treasurer, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $7,948.

AF 4389 Sergio Alcubilla for Congress and Sergio Alcubilla, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,768.

AF 4390 Cornicelli for Congress and Douglas Keith Kronenberg, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,093.

AF 4391 Drew-Montez Clark for Congress and Drew-Montez Clark, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,682.

AF 4392 Friends of Cindy Banyai and Stephanie Hoffman, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $897.

Audits

Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Communications Workers of America-COPE Political Contributions Committee On June 21, the Commission approved by tally vote an Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Communications Workers of America-COPE Political Contributions Committee, covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020. The Commission approved findings related to misstatement of financial activity and disclosure of occupation and name of employer.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2023-01 (Use of Artificial Intelligence in Campaign Ads) On June 22, the Commission discussed a Notice of Availability seeking comment on whether the Commission should initiate a full rulemaking on a proposal in the Petition for Rulemaking from Public Citizen but did not approve publication of the notice by the required four affirmative votes. In the petition, Public Citizen asked the Commission to specify in regulation or guidance that its statutory provision regarding the fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority applies to deliberately deceptive artificial intelligence campaign advertisements.

Outreach

On June 21, Senior Communications Specialist Kathy Carothers discussed campaign finance disclosure rules and the role of the Commission with an Indonesian delegation visiting the United States as part of the National Center for State Courts’ International Visitor Educational Program.

On June 22, Commissioner Shana M. Broussard and Public Affairs Specialist Myles Martin spoke to editors at the States Newsroom’s summit in Washington, D.C on the Commission’s role and disclosure systems.

Press releases

Commission discusses petition for rulemaking (issued June 22)

Employment Opportunities

The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Auditor through January 2, 2024. For more information, see the job posting at https://www.usajobs.gov/job/696625100.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

July 11, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

July 13, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

August 8, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

August 10, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

June 28, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a FECFile webinar for candidate committees.

July 12, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host an FECConnect OnTopic discussion on PAC and Party Registration. Participation is free, but registration is required. To register, please email ontopic@fec.gov.

July 19, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a FECFile webinar for PACs and party committees.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

July 15: July Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Quarterly Reporting schedule.

July 20: July Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Monthly Reporting schedule.

July 31: Mid-Year Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Semi-Annual 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 now 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 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. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.