Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that “Montcalm LLC,” which gave $150,000 to the super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund less than two weeks after incorporating, violated the ban on making political contributions in the name of another.

On Oct. 16, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a supplemental complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding Cambridge Analytica and its role in facilitating unlawful coordination between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and a super PAC financed by the Mercer family. The supplement relied on newly-published internal Cambridge Analytica documents.

On Oct. 15, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) sent a letter to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, urging the Mayor not to decrease the revenue allocated to Denver's Fair Elections Fund in the city budget for 2021. In November 2018, over 70% of Denver voters approved creation of the Fair Elections Fund via ballot measure, and, beginning in the 2023 election cycle, the new public financing program will provide participating city candidates with matching funds at a 9-to-1 rate, for small campaign contributions given by residents of Denver. In the letter to Mayor Hancock, CLC stresses the importance of fully funding Denver's Fair Elections Fund in the 2021 budget to ensure the new public financing program's successful implementation. 

On Oct. 14, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Campaign Legal Center's (CLC) motion for default judgment in CLC v. FEC, 20-cv-01778, a delay suit filed by CLC against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in June 2020. The district court's order holds that the FEC's ongoing failure to act on CLC's administrative complaint alleging federal campaign finance violations by Iowa Values is contrary to law, and requires the FEC to take action on CLC's complaint within the timeframe required by statute. 

On Feb. 3, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint against with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the Society of Young Women Scientists and Engineers (SCYWSE), its manager Jennifer Lam, and other unknown persons violated the straw donor ban in the Federal Election Campaign Act by making contributions in the name of another person. The FEC has acted contrary to law by failing act in the 120 days after the complaint was received. 

This backgrounder can be used by members of the media and the public to guide their understanding of the electoral process of electing a President.

On September 17, 2020 Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for allegedly creating a straw donor scheme where he reimbursed his employees at New Breed Logistics and XPO Logistics, using his own funds and/or corporate funds, after they donated to political campaigns.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted comments to the FEC supporting a petition for rulemaking filed by Citizens United. CLC urged the FEC to amend its regulations to clarify that an individual cannot transfer unlimited personal funds to a national party committee simply because the funds were first deposited into the individual’s campaign account. 

On August 24, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted an analysis of House Bill 737 in Ohio, particularly as it concerns campaign finance transparency requirements and suggestions for how to strengthen them.

Campaign Legal Center's report documents digital transparency gaps in the 2020 elections. CLC's research found that over a dozen super PACs or dark money groups reported tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in digital independent expenditures to the FEC, but none or only a fraction of the FEC-reported ads could be identified in the Facebook, Google, Snapchat, or Reddit archives.