Campaign Legal Center Action (CLCA) and Common Cause Georgia filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that during the lead up to the Georgia Senate runoff election the Georgia Republican Party illegally coordinated with True the Vote.
In December 2020, the Georgia Republican Party requested the assistance of True the Vote, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, with the 2021 Senate runoff election. That same month True the Vote sent out a press release announcing the partnership and the kinds of services they would provide in connection with the election.
In the press release Georgia Republican Party Chairman, David Shafer said, “We are grateful for the help of the True the Vote team in the fight for election integrity,” and “The resources of True the Vote will help us organize and implement the most comprehensive ballot security initiative in Georgia history.”
True the Vote provided a voter hotline, ballot-curing support, signature verification training and absentee ballot drop box monitoring. In doing so, they indirectly donated to a political committee, and by answering the request of and coordinating with the Georgia Republican Party, both organizations violated multiple campaign finance laws.
Corporations are not supposed to act as arms of campaigns, and since coordinated spending is just as valuable to candidates and political parties as direct contributions, coordination between outside spenders and their preferred political party must be strictly policed and enforced.
The FEC, which is the only government agency whose sole responsibility is overseeing the integrity of our political campaigns, must investigate and hold parties accountable for their blatant disregard for campaign finance laws.