Week of February 6-10, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

On February 7 and 9, the Commission met in executive session.

The Commission voted to cancel the open meeting scheduled for February 9.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7991

COMPLAINANTS: Republican National Committee; National Republican Senatorial Committee; and National Republican Congressional Committee
RESPONDENTS: Google, LLC (Google); and Biden for President and Keana Spencer, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Google made, and the Committee and other unnamed Democratic candidates knowingly accepted, prohibited in-kind corporate contributions when Google’s spam filter disproportionately flagged Republican campaign emails as spam during the 2020 election cycle. The complaint alleged that, as a result, Google’s spam filter eliminated a major source of political fundraising for Republican candidates and undermined their ability to communicate their messages to the public. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was a 2020 presidential candidate.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that Google made, and the Committee knowingly accepted, prohibited in-kind corporate contributions because the available information indicated that Google’s spam filter was in place for commercial, rather than electoral, purposes.

MUR 8039

COMPLAINANT: Laurie Lytel
RESPONDENTS: Becker for Congress and Cameron Phillips, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and April Becker
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to report ultimate vendor information connected to disbursements that Becker made on behalf of her congressional campaign and disclosed in campaign finance reports submitted in 2021. Becker was a 2022 candidate for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

Administrative Fines

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

AF 4286 Sheila Cherfilus McCormick for Congress, Inc and Dr. Olubisi Aina, in their official capacity as treasurer. The Commission voted to terminate the proceedings.

AF 4297 Friends of Chris Theodore and Christopher Mark Theodore, in their official capacity as Treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a $5,190 civil penalty.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 22-5336) On February 6, Plaintiffs-Appellees filed a Motion to Dismiss in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Palmer v. FEC (Case No. 22-2876) On February 9, the Commission filed a Reply in Support of Its Motion to Dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On February 7 and 8, Commissioner Shana M. Broussard participated in the Public Sector Interview Program and spoke to a Legislation and Regulations class at The Ohio State University - Moritz College of Law.

On February 21, Commissioner Broussard and Chairman Thomas Hicks of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission will host a Black History Month conversation with election experts. Topics will include the future of multiracial democracy, diversifying the candidate pool, and barriers to casting a meaningful vote, among others.

Press releases

FEC to hold February 14 hearing on audit procedures (issued February 7)

Witnesses to testify at Feb. 14 hearing on FEC audit policies and processes (issued February 10)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

February 14, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold a hybrid public hearing on audit procedures for non-publicly funded political committees.

February 28, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

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

Upcoming educational programs

February 14-15, 2023: The Commission will host a webinar for corporations and their PACs.

February 22, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host an FECConnect OnTopic session on Filing a Termination Report.

March 14-15, 2023: The Commission will host a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.

March 22, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host an FECConnect OnTopic session on 2023-2024 Contribution Limits.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

February 20: February Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Monthly 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.

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

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.