Federal Election Commission
| Federal Election Commission | |
 | |
| Chair: | James "Trey" Trainor (R) |
| Year created: | 1974 |
| Official website: | Office website |
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency created by Congress in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Elections Campaign Act. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions, and overseeing the public funding of presidential elections.[1]
The commission is led by six members. The six members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They each serve six-year terms, with two seats up for appointment every two years. To prevent partisanship, no more than three members can be of the same political party, and there is a four-vote minimum for any proposal to be passed. Chairs of the commission serve one-year terms and are limited to one term as chair during their tenure.[1]
History
President Theodore Roosevelt pushed Congress for campaign finance reform in 1905, which resulted in a series of legislative actions between 1907 and 1966 regarding primary and general election campaign funding and expenditures. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) was passed in 1971 and made disclosure laws stricter on candidates, political action committees (PACs), and the political parties themselves. FECA was amended in 1974 to limit campaign contributions by individuals, political parties, and PACs. The 1974 amendments also allowed for the establishment of the Federal Election Commission. The FEC opened its doors in 1975. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) passed in 2002 and banned national parties from raising or spending soft money contributions, placed restrictions on issue ads, and increased federal contribution limits.[2]
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| Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia. |
Two 2010 United States Supreme Court cases, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and SpeechNow.org v. FEC represented the largest changes to campaign finance laws in decades. The ruling in the Citizens United case allowed corporations and unions to fund ads created independently from the campaign. The SpeechNow.org ruling expanded on the Citizens United ruling and allowed the establishment of super PACs. Previous limitations on contributions from corporations and unions to political organizations run independently from campaigns were struck down.[3]
Another Supreme Court case decided in April 2012, McCutcheon v. FEC, struck down previous limitations on how much a single donor could contribute to candidates and political parties in total during an election cycle. The limitation on how much a donor could give to each candidate and political party remained intact, but individual donors were no longer limited as to how many candidates and political parties they could contribute to.[4]
Requirements for candidacy
According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate and must begin to report his or her campaign finances once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in pursuit of his or her campaign. Within 15 days of this benchmark for status as a candidate, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee to be responsible for the funds and expenditures of the campaign. This committee must have an official treasurer and cannot support any candidate but the one who registered the committee. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered with the FEC. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.[5]
Structure
Mission
The official FEC mission statement is as follows:
| “ | In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)—the statute that governs the financing of federal elections.[6] | ” |
| —FEC[1] | ||
Leadership
The FEC's leadership as of November 3, 2021:
- Shana Broussard (D) (Chair)
- Allen Dickerson (R) (Vice Chair)
- Ellen L. Weintraub (D)
- James "Trey" Trainor (R)
- Steven T. Walther (I)
- Sean Cooksey (R)[7]
Organizational chart
Noteworthy events
FEC regains quorum to enforce campaign finance laws (2020)
The FEC regained its quorum on December 9, 2020, when the U.S. Senate confirmed the nominations of Allen Dickerson, Sean Cooksey, and Shana Broussard. President Donald Trump (R) nominated all three commissioners.[8]
FEC loses quorum to enforce campaign finance laws (2020)
A little more than a month after regaining its quorum with the confirmation of Trey Trainor in May 2020, the Federal Election Commission was left without a functioning quorum when former chairperson Caroline Hunter (R) resigned.[9] Hunter, who was first confirmed to the commission effective July 2008, announced her resignation on June 26, 2020, and formally left the commission on July 3.[10] In her resignation letter to President Donald Trump (R), Hunter wrote, "The FEC would benefit greatly from new faces and fresh perspectives. It needs Commissioners who will respect the First Amendment, understand the limits of the FEC’s jurisdiction, and remember that Congress established the FEC to prevent single-party control, with every significant decision requiring bipartisan approval."[11] Her departure from the commission decreased the current number of active commissioners on the FEC back to three, one member short of the four needed to execute a variety of key policy duties tasked to the body.
On the same day that Hunter resigned, Trump nominated Allen Dickerson to the commission.[9] Dickerson is the current legal director at the Institute for Free Speech and said of the nomination, "It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the FEC. I am grateful for the president's confidence, and hope to have the opportunity to serve the American people in this important role."[12] Dickerson's nomination is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
FEC regains quorum to enforce campaign finance laws (2020)
The Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) nearly nine-month period without a functioning quorum came to a close on May 19, 2020, when the United States Senate voted 49-43 along party lines to confirm Republican attorney Trey Trainor as the commission’s newest member. Trainor’s confirmation created the quorum of members necessary for the FEC to oversee campaign finance disclosures, perform audits, and enforce fundraising violations.[13][9]
The FEC had lacked a quorum since Republican Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen resigned on August 31, 2019. Trainor joined Republican Chairwoman Caroline Hunter, independent Vice Chairman Steven Walther, and Democratic member Ellen Weintraub on the six-member commission.[13][9]
The Federal Election Campaign Act requires a vote of at least four of the FEC’s six members for the commission to undertake a number of key policy duties such as promulgating rules, issuing advisory opinions, and deciding enforcement actions. As a result, all of the commission’s four active members were required to reach a consensus before proceeding with substantive actions.[13][9]
FEC lacks quorum (2019)
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) lacked the quorum of members necessary to oversee campaign finance disclosures, perform audits or enforce fundraising violations following the August 31, 2019, resignation of Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen (R).[14]
Petersen did not specify a reason for his resignation. His departure left the six-member commission with only three members: Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub (D), Steven Walther (I), and Caroline Hunter (R). Vacancies created by the resignations of commissioners Ann Ravel (D) in February 2017 and Lee Goodman (R) in February 2018 had yet to be filled. President Trump’s 2017 nominee to fill one vacant seat had not been voted upon by the U.S. Senate (as of August 2019).[14]
An August 27th statement by Weintraub said that FEC staff will continue to make campaign finance documents available to the public and issue recommendations regarding campaign finance complaints. However, the commission will be unable to vote on the recommendations until a quorum is re-established.[14]
See also
External links
- Official website of the Federal Election Commission
- FEC - Disclosure Date Search
- Search Google News for this topic
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Election Commission, "About the FEC," accessed June 27, 2012
- ↑ FEC, "The FEC and the Federal Campaign Finance Law," accessed April 18, 2014
- ↑ Journalist's Resource, "State of campaign finance policy: Recent developments and issues for Congress," October 3, 2011
- ↑ Washington Post, "Winners and losers from the McCutcheon v. FEC ruling," April 2, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Candidate Registration Brochure," accessed December 7, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ FEC, "Leadership and structure," accessed November 3, 2021
- ↑ Politico "Federal campaign finance watchdog has full slate for first time in years," December 9, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 The Hill, "FEC regains authorities after Senate confirms Trump nominee as commissioner," May 19, 2020
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Caroline C. Hunter," accessed July 7, 2020
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Resignation Letter to White House (June 26, 2020)," June 26, 2020
- ↑ Politico, "FEC losing quorum again after Caroline Hunter resigns," June 26, 2020
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Politico, "FEC reaches quorum after Senate confirms Trainor," May 19, 2020
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 NPR, "As FEC Nears Shutdown, Priorities Such As Stopping Election Interference On Hold," August 30, 2019
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