WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced on July 29 that it has agreed to settle a complaint originally filed by Campaign Legal Center Action (CLCA) and Common Cause Georgia (CCGA) and issued a $14,500 fine to the Georgia Republican Party (Georgia GOP) for failing to report its receipt of illegal in-kind contributions from a nonprofit called True the Vote during the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia.

Under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), corporations are barred from making contributions (including in-kind contributions resulting from coordinated activity) to federal candidates and political parties. But True the Vote and the Georgia GOP illegally collaborated on election-related activities — such as challenging voter eligibility and monitoring drop boxes — and failed to report these activities accordingly as in-kind contributions.

After the FEC initially dismissed the complaint filed by CLCA and CCGA, CCGA and its Executive Director, Aunna Dennis, sued the agency in federal court in late 2022, with CLCA as counsel.

The court ruled that the complaint filed by CLCA and CCGA detailed “plentiful” evidence of such illegal and undisclosed coordination. The court also said that the FEC’s dismissal decision was “factually and legally unreasonable” and it remanded the matter back to the FEC, which has now reversed course and affirmed that the law was, indeed, violated, and accordingly settled the matter.

“Both the court decision and FEC settlement mark a rare and significant precedent for what constitutes illegal coordination under federal campaign finance law,” said Megan McAllen, director of campaign finance litigation at Campaign Legal Center Action. “But we are disappointed that the FEC only managed to do the bare minimum to enforce the law, even under a court order. This settlement rectifies the Georgia GOP’s failure to disclose the $500,000 in contributions it received from True the Vote, but neither entity was penalized for their unlawful coordination and the modest fine imposed was not remotely proportionate to the magnitude of this violation. That we had to take the agency to court to achieve even a modicum of accountability for these blatant violations of law only confirms how much the FEC needs vigilant watchdogs like CLCA. Voters have a right to know who is spending money to influence their votes and be assured that those who break the law are all held accountable.”

“We are pleased that the FEC is finally shining a light on this illegal coordination scheme by requiring the Georgia Republican Party to disclose the contributions it received from True the Vote,” said Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia. “But the FEC settlement falls short by letting True the Vote off the hook for its illegal attempt to undermine the voting rights of hundreds of thousands of Georgia voters in the 2021 runoffs. Georgia voters need reassurance that their right to vote will always be respected and that our federal institutions won’t neglect their duties to enforce the law. That is why we will continue to fight for accountability and transparency from the FEC."

The partnership between the Georgia GOP and True the Vote demonstrates a larger trend of campaigns and outside spending groups violating this law and engaging in illegal coordination since the 2010 Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court. The FEC’s routine practice of not enforcing federal coordination restrictions, and its recent issuing of an advisory opinion that further weakens our already inadequate coordination rules, have helped to perpetuate an environment that privileges wealthy special interests over average voters at the expense of a fully participatory democracy.

Legal action on the part of CLCA and CCGA before the courts led to a new precedent which can help bolster transparency around who is spending money in our elections and promote more enforcement of federal campaign finance law. This is essential for promoting integrity in our nation’s election system.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Campaign Legal Center submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, urging it to advance S. 1171, the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act. 

The Committee is scheduled to vote on this legislation at its July 24 business meeting, as well as a bipartisan agreement between Sens. Peters (D-MI), Merkley (D-OR), Hawley (R-MO) and Ossoff (D-GA) to revise and strengthen this bill. If the Committee votes favorably, a modified version of the ETHICS Act will head to the Senate floor, a milestone in the ongoing effort to address serious concerns around lawmakers’ stock trading.  

If amended and passed, the ETHICS Act would prohibit members of Congress, the president and the vice president from buying and selling covered assets. These officials, including their spouses and dependents, would be required to divest any covered assets starting in 2027. This legislation would also provide enhanced enforcement mechanisms for these new divestment rules.

“Voters have a right to know if federal elected officials are acting in the best interests of their constituents, or for their own financial gain,” said Kedric Payne, vice president, general counsel and senior director of ethics at Campaign Legal Center. “By virtue of their positions, members of Congress, the president and the vice President are oftentimes privy to information that is unavailable to the general public. Allowing them to engage in stock trading risks fostering an environment where conflicts of interest among lawmakers lead to the deterioration of public trust. It is essential that the U.S. Senate pass this bill.”  

In the 117th Congress, over half of members owned individual stocks while congressional stock transactions reached over $630 million. A recent media investigation revealed that nearly 20% of these members of Congress failed to timely disclose stock trades they made. 

Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support a potential ban on congressional stock trading, due to their impression that these actions are secretive and self-interested on the part of lawmakers. Stock trades risk making lawmakers vulnerable to potential conflicts of interest around policymaking and even committee assignments.  

The modified ETHICS Act is a critical piece of bipartisan legislation. At a time when growing distrust among the public exists around the federal government and its associated officials, the U.S. Senate needs to pass this bill without delay.  
 

Read the full letter here. 

Adav Noti, executive director of Campaign Legal Center, released the following statement in response to questions regarding ballot access laws (the procedures of how candidates are placed on the ballot in each state):  

“Assuming the Democratic Party formally chooses a presidential nominee before or during the Democratic National Convention, there are no legal barriers to that candidate being on the general election ballot nationwide. In all 51 jurisdictions, the deadline to name the presidential candidate falls after the nominating date at the convention. Legal actions attempting to block the nominated ticket from appearing on the general election ballot would have no merit and would be rapidly disposed of by the courts.”  

Noti and CLC’s election lawyers are available to answer press questions about the legal requirements relating to ballot access.  

Washington, D.C. — Today, President Joe Biden made the announcement that he is withdrawing his bid for reelection. Trevor Potter, founder and president of Campaign Legal Center, issued the following statement regarding the campaign funds currently held by the Biden-Harris campaign:

A major party’s presumptive nominee stepping down months before Election Day is not an ordinary event, but it is also not a crisis.

There are Democratic Party rules in place to govern the process of selecting a new nominee. There are also rules established by the Federal Election Commission that apply to the funds currently held by the Biden-Harris campaign.

The application of those FEC rules depends in part on who becomes the Democratic nominee for president. Specifically, because Biden and Harris share a campaign committee, the Vice President and her running mate can continue using the campaign’s existing funds for the general election if she is on the Democratic ticket as either the presidential or vice-presidential nominee.

If the new ticket does not include Vice President Harris, the rules are different.  Campaign committees are subject to federal contribution limits, which limit candidate-to-candidate contributions to $2,000 per election.

Alternatively, the Biden campaign can offer to refund its donors, or the campaign can transfer its funds to the national Democratic party or state parties. The party committees are permitted by FEC rules to spend some funds in coordination with the eventual presidential nominee.  

Regardless of whom the Democratic Party ultimately chooses as its candidate, what matters most is voters having the final say on who becomes the next President of the United States. I urge all parties to follow the law and respect the outcome of the election in November.

CLC’s election lawyers - including President Trevor Potter, Executive Director Adav Noti, Senior Director for Campaign Finance Erin Chlopak and Director for Federal Campaign Finance Reform Saurav Ghosh - are available to further discuss these FEC rules with the press.

Lincoln, NE — The freedom to vote for tens of thousands of Nebraskans with prior felony convictions now hangs in the balance after Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued an opinion that takes Nebraska backward on voting rights.

At least 59,000 of the voters who would be impacted by this decision have had their freedom to vote for almost 20 years.

Blair Bowie, director of Campaign Legal Center (CLC)’s Restore Your Vote program, issued the following statement in response:

“Nebraska’s attorney general and secretary of state are taking Nebraska backward and stripping the freedom to vote away from tens of thousands of citizens. Felony disenfranchisement laws have long been a stain on American democracy. AG Hilgers’ opinion undermines the will of the Legislature to restore voting rights to Nebraskans who have completed their sentences. The opinion unjustly strips the well-settled right to vote from tens of thousands of Nebraskans and will create widespread confusion around voter eligibility right before a major election,” said Blair Bowie, director of Campaign Legal Center’s Restore Your Vote program. “All citizens, regardless of whether they have a felony conviction, should have the freedom to vote.”

Nebraskans with past felony convictions can use CLC’s Restore Your Vote tool to help understand their voting rights.