FEC - Federal Election Commission
10/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/11/2024 13:44
Week of October 7 – 11, 2024
Commission meetings and hearings
On October 8 and 10, the Commission met in executive session.
On October 10, the Commission held an open meeting.
Advisory Opinions
Opinions Issued
Advisory Opinion 2024-09 (Nanette Barragán and Barragán for Congress) On October 10, the Commission approved an advisory opinion concluding that Congresswoman Barragán may use campaign funds to pay certain eldercare expenses to the extent that they are incurred as a direct result of her campaign activity for her own campaign. The Commission also concluded that Congresswoman Barragán may use campaign funds to pay certain eldercare expenses she incurs when she is traveling for official business for a Congressional Member Delegation or in Washington, D.C. to cast votes in Congress.
Advisory Opinion 2024-14 (DSCC and Rosen for Nevada) On October 10, the Commission approved an advisory opinion in response to a request concerning hybrid television ads that clearly identify Senator Jacky Rosen and equally promote on a time/space basis her candidacy for U.S. Senate and generic candidates of the Democratic Party. The Commission concluded that DSCC and Rosen for Nevada may evenly split the cost of the ads so long as the time and space devoted to Senator Rosen do not exceed the time and space in the advertisement devoted to the generically referenced candidates. The Commission also concluded that the portions of a hybrid advertisement featuring Senator Rosen, a clearly identified federal candidate, narrating or speaking directly to the camera, should be allocated as candidate advocacy.
Opinion Discussed
Advisory Opinion Request 2024-13 (DSCC, Montanans for Tester, and Gallego for Arizona) On October 10, the Commission voted on two draft advisory opinions in response to a request concerning the requestors' proposed formation of two joint fundraising committees, each comprised of the DSCC and one authorized committee. Each joint fundraising committee proposed to run television ads featuring the participating candidate and soliciting contributions to the joint fundraising committees. Neither draft received the required four affirmative votes. The Commission concluded its consideration of the request without issuing an opinion.
Enforcement
The Commission made public two closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Search System.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: CatholicVote.org
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated findings to determine whether there was reason to believe CatholicVote.org failed to timely file a 24-Hour Report of independent expenditures aggregating $300,000 disclosed on its 2022 Year-End Report.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for CatholicVote.org to pay a civil penalty of $24,000 and to require that personnel responsible for complying with the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations attend a Commission-sponsored training on independent expenditure filing.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Democratic Executive Committee of Florida and Fran Garcia, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated findings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to timely and accurately disclose receipts and disbursements and knowingly accepted excessive contributions during the 2022 election cycle.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $70,000 and to send its treasurer and other personnel responsible for filing disclosure reports and with processing contributions to a Commission-sponsored training program.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Commission made public one closed case, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Search System.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Steve Chabot for Congress and Natalie K. Baur, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings regarding alleged activities arising out of an eight-year embezzlement scheme perpetrated against the Committee by James R. Schwartz II, the former campaign manager of and consultant to the Committee. On May 27, 2021, Schwartz pleaded guilty to wire fraud and the falsification of records in connection with embezzling $1.4 million from the Committee, including related misrepresentations made in reports he prepared and filed on behalf of the Committee and falsified documents provided to the Commission's Audit Division. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison. It is estimated that the total misrepresentation of funds to the Commission, within the statute of limitations, totaled $2,882,516.89, which included inaccurate reporting of receipts and disbursements, mathematical discrepancies, the disclosure of inaccurate and negative cash-on-hand balances, the failure to properly itemize contributions from individuals, and missing 48-Hour Notices.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify the closure of the its federal account and work with Commission staff to terminate its political committee status.
Public Funding
Certification for Payment of Presidential Primary Matching Funds (Mike Pence/Mike Pence for President) On October 9, the Commission voted to certify to the Secretary of Treasury a payment of $113,232.74 from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to Mike Pence, formerly a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, and his committee, Mike Pence for President.
Outreach
On October 7, Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub discussed campaign finance law and the work of the Commission with representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
On October 8, Communications Specialist David Garr discussed campaign finance disclosure rules and the role of the Commission with an Australian delegation visiting the United States as part of the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
On October 8, Public Affairs Specialist Myles Martin spoke on campaign finance data and the Commission's disclosure systems with journalism students at The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
On October 9, the Commission hosted FECFile and reporting webinars for PACs and party committees.
Press releases
FEC names Susan Ruge-Hudson Inspector General (issued October 7)
FEC certifies additional matching funds for Mike Pence for President (issued October 10)
FEC approves two advisory opinions, certification of payment from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund (issued October 10)
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 29, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
October 30, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
November 13, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
November 14, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
Upcoming educational opportunities
November 20, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar on Winding Down the Campaign and Post-General Reporting.
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
Election Dates. The Commission has posted 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 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.
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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.