Week of October 16 – 20, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

On October 17 and 19, the Commission met in executive session.

On October 19, the Commission held an open meeting.

Administrative Fines

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

AF 4393 William Sanchez for US Senate and Marcia Rodriguez, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,616.

AF 4564 Nicolee Ambrose for Congress and Chris Rosenthal, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,514.

AF 4572 Candidate Kathy Warner-Stanton and Ella Warner, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 4583 Erica for US and Erica D. Smith, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $402.

AF 4659 Ann Wagner for Congress and Thomas C. Datwyler, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,560.

AF 4660 Bo Hines for Congress and Jason D Boles, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $11,928.

AF 4661 Burns for NH and Shaun S Doherty, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,652.

Audits

Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Citizens for Waters On October 19, the Commission approved three findings in the Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Citizens for Waters, covering campaign finance activity from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020. The Commission approved findings related to misstatement of financial activity, receipt of contributions in excess of the limit, and cash disbursements. The Commission did not approve the fourth finding.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2016-01: Notification of Disposition of Petition for Rulemaking on Advisory Opinion Comment Procedures On October 20, the Commission published in the Federal Register a Notification of Disposition of a Petition for Rulemaking on Advisory Opinion Comment Procedures. The Petition asked the Commission to modify its procedures for soliciting comment on drafts of advisory opinions before the Commission votes on the drafts. As the Commission observes in the Notification of Disposition, the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and existing regulations provide for a meaningful opportunity for the public to comment on Advisory Opinion Requests (AORs). Additionally, the Commission has substantially expanded opportunities for public comment by committing to releasing draft advisory opinions in advance, soliciting comments on those drafts, and allowing requestors to appear before the Commission when their AOR and any draft AOs are being considered. Accordingly, the Commission is declining to initiate a rulemaking at this time.

REG 2018-05: Notification of Disposition of Petition for Rulemaking on Size of Letters in Disclaimers On October 20, the Commission published in the Federal Register a Notification of Disposition of a Petition for Rulemaking on the Size of Letters in Disclaimers. The Petition asked the Commission to amend its regulation on the size of letters in disclaimers in certain television advertisements such that the required letter size for advertisements broadcast in high definition would be reduced. Because changing the Commission’s regulations as requested in the Petition would create a direct conflict with regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, the Commission is not initiating a rulemaking at this time.

Litigation

Common Cause Georgia, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 22-3067) On October 19, the Commission made public a Vote Certification.

Public Disclosure

On October 13, the Office of the Inspector General released its Fiscal Year 2024 Work Plan.

Outreach

On October 16, Chair Dara Lindenbaum, Vice Chairman Sean J. Cooksey and Acting General Counsel Lisa Stevenson participated in panel discussions at the annual conference of the Practising Law Institute in Washington, D.C.

On October 18, Commissioner Allen Dickerson spoke at a reception hosted by the People United for Privacy in Washington, DC.

On October 19, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub appeared on a virtual panel sponsored by Digital Hollywood on AI, Ethics, and the Law.

On October 20, Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor III was the keynote speaker for the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Continuing Legal Education Seminar in Nashville, TN.

Press releases

FEC approves Audit Division recommendation memorandum (issued October 19)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

November 1, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

November 2, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

November 14, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

November 16, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

October 25, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a full-day Seminar for Candidate and Political Party Committees at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. In-person attendance is limited, but virtual attendance is also available.

November 15, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host webinars on Independent Expenditures and Reporting Independent Expenditures using FECFile.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

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

Additional research materials

Election Dates: The Commission has posted Preliminary 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.

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.