History and membership
History
The FEC was established in 1974, in an amendment of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), to enforce and regulate campaign finance law.Padilla-Babilonia, Alvin. "Reforming the Federal Election Commission: Storable Voting." ''Wyo. L. Rev.'' 20 (2020): 287. Initially, its six members were to be appointed by both houses of Congress and the president, reflecting a strong desire for Congress to retain control. Two commissioners were to be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and two by the speaker of the House of Representatives, each upon recommendation by the respective majority and minority leaders in that chamber, and the last two appointed by the president. They were to be confirmed by both Houses of Congress, rather than only by the Senate. The appointment process was invalidated in 1976, in '' Buckley v. Valeo'', when the Supreme Court held that the commissioners of the FEC were "Officers of the United States" under theCommissioners
The commission consists of six commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by theOfficial duties
Duties
The FEC administers federal campaign finance laws. It enforces limitations and prohibitions on contributions and expenditures, administers the reporting system for campaign finance disclosure, investigates and prosecutes violations (investigations are typically initiated by complaints from other candidates, parties, watchdog groups, and the public), audits a limited number of campaigns and organizations for compliance, and administers the presidential public funding programs for presidential candidates. Until 2014, the FEC was also responsible for regulating the nomination of conventions and defends the statute in challenges to federal election laws and regulations. The FEC also publishes reports, filed in the Senate, House of Representatives and presidential campaigns, that list how much each campaign has raised and spent, and a list of all donors over $200, along with each donor's home address, employer and job title. This database also goes back to 1980. Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, information about individual contributors taken from FEC reports cannot be sold or used for soliciting political or charitable contributions, or for any commercial purpose. This restriction applies only to the use of individual contributor information, and does not apply to candidate committees, party committees, or political action committees. The FEC authorizes reporting committees to include up to ten fictitious records as a means to detect data misuse. The FEC also maintains an active program of public education, directed primarily to explaining the law to the candidates, their campaigns, political parties and other political committees that it regulates.Procedures and deadlock
The most significant powers of the FEC require an affirmative vote. These powers include the ability to conduct investigations, report misconduct to law enforcement, pursue settlements with candidates, and to bring a civil action in court to enforce campaign finance regulations. The FEC can also publish advisory opinions on campaign finance issues and issue campaign finance regulations. Under the statute, there is an even number of commissioners with no more than three commissioners being members of the same political party. However, there is no tie-breaking process, such as by the chair. In addition, there is a quorum requirement of four commissioners. This results in four of the six commissioners being required for a FEC decision, which in turn means that on controversial issues bipartisan support is required for a decision. Critics have argued that the even number of commissioners and the supermajority requirement was a "set up for deadlock and political shenanigans," especially in an age of polarization. Between 1996 and 2006, the FEC tied in only 2.4% of Matters Under Review (MURs). In 2008 and 2009, such deadlocks spiked to 13% and to 24.4% in 2014. By 2016, commissioners deadlocked on more than 30% of substantive votes and consequently enforcement intensity decreased significantly.Criticism
Campaign finance
Critics of the FEC, including many former commissioners and campaign finance reform supporters, have harshly complained of the FEC's impotence, and accused it of succumbing to regulatory capture where it serves the interests of the ones it was intended to regulate. The FEC's bipartisan structure, which was established by Congress, renders the agency "toothless." Critics also claim that most FEC penalties for violating election law come well after the actual election in which they were committed. Additionally, some critics claim that the commissioners tend to act as an arm of the "regulated community" of parties, interest groups, and politicians when issuing rulings and writing regulations. Others point out, however, that the commissioners rarely divide evenly along partisan lines, and that the response time problem may be endemic to the enforcement procedures established by Congress. To complete steps necessary to resolve a complaint – including time for defendants to respond to the complaint, time to investigate and engage in legal analysis, and finally, where warranted, prosecution – necessarily takes far longer than the comparatively brief period of a political campaign. While campaigning in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New York, Democratic primary candidate Liuba Grechen Shirley used campaign funds to pay a caregiver for her two young children. The FEC ruled that federal candidates can use campaign funds to pay for childcare costs that result from time spent running for office. Grechen Shirley became the first woman in history to receive approval to spend campaign funds on childcare.First Amendment issues
Critics including former FEC chairman Bradley Smith and Stephen M. Hoersting, former executive director of the Center for Competitive Politics, criticize the FEC for pursuing overly aggressive enforcement theories that they believe amount to an infringement on the First Amendment right to free speech. Division over the issue became especially prominent during the last several years of the Obama administration. Commissioners deadlocked on several votes over whether to regulate Twitter, Facebook, and other online mediums for political speech, as well as a vote to punish Fox News for the selection criteria it used in a presidential debate.Deadlocks
Critics of the commission also argue that the membership structure regularly causes deadlocks on 3-3 votes. Since 2008, 3-3 votes have become more common at the FEC. From 2008 to August 2014, the FEC has had over 200 tie votes, accounting for approximately 14 percent of all votes in enforcement matters. On May 6, 2021, the FEC closed an inquiry into whether the payment to Stormy Daniels by Donald Trump violated campaign financial law during the 2016 election. The FEC voted 2-2, between Democrats and Republicans, against a motion to take further action. Republican Vice Chairman Allen Dickerson recused himself, while independent Commissioner Steven Walther did not vote. Similarly, in June 2021, the FEC found that ''Commissioners
Current
Former commissioners and chairmen
Source: * Joan D. Aikens – April 1975 – September 1998 (reappointed May 1976, December 1981, August 1983 and October 1989). * Thomas B. Curtis – April 1975 – May 1976. * Thomas E. Harris – April 1975 – October 1986 (reappointed May 1976 and June 1979). * Neil O. Staebler – April 1975 – October 1978 (reappointed May 1976). * Vernon W. Thomson – April 1975 – June 1979; January 1981 – December 1981 (reappointed May 1976). * Robert Tiernan – April 1975 – December 1981 (reappointed May 1976). * William L. Springer – May 1976 – February 1979. * John Warren McGarry – October 1978 – August 1998 (reappointed July 1983 and October 1989). * Max Friedersdorf – March 1979 – December 1980. * Frank P. Reiche – July 1979 – August 1985. * Lee Ann Elliott – December 1981 – June 2000 (reappointed July 1987 and July 1994). * Danny L. McDonald – December 1981 – January 2006 (reappointed in July 1987, July 1994 and July 2000). * Thomas J. Josefiak – August 1985 – December 1991. * Scott E. Thomas – October 1986 – January 2006 (reappointed in November 1991 and July 1998). * Trevor Potter – November 1991 – October 1995. * Darryl R. Wold – July 1998 – April 2002. * Karl J. Sandstrom – July 1998 – December 2002. * David M. Mason – July 1998 – July 2008. * Bradley A. Smith – May 2000 – August 2005. * Michael E. Toner – March 2002 – March 2007. (by recess appointment on March 29, 2002, confirmed to full term 2003) * Ellen Weintraub – December 2002 – February 2025. (by recess appointment on December 6, 2002, confirmed to full term 2003), termination disputed * Robert D. Lenhard – January 2006 – December 2007. (by recess appointment on January 4, 2006) * Hans A. von Spakovsky – January 2006 – December 2007. (by recess appointment on January 4, 2006) * Steven T. Walther – January 2006 – December 2007 (by recess appointment on January 4, 2006), June 2008 — August 2022. (later confirmed to full term) * Cynthia L. Bauerly – June 2008 – February 2013. * Matthew S. Petersen – June 2008 – August 2019. * Caroline C. Hunter – June 2008 – July 2020. * Don McGahn – July 2008 – September 2013. * Lee E. Goodman – October 2013 – February 2018. * Ann Ravel – October 2013 – March 2017. * Sean J. Cooksey – December 2020 – January 2025. * Allen Dickerson – December 2020 – April 2025.See also
* Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act * Campaign finance in the United States * ''Dark Money'' (film) * Election Assistance Commission *Case law
*'' Buckley v. Valeo'', 424 U.S. 1 (1976) *'' Federal Election Commission v. Akins'' (1998), authorizing "any party aggrieved by an order of the Commission" to file a suit *'' McConnell v. Federal Election Commission'' (2003) *'' Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc.'' (2007), holding that issue ads may not be banned before elections *'' Davis v. Federal Election Commission'' (2008) *''References
Further reading
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