Federal Election Commission


The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."

Membership

The commission is made up of six members, who are appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. Each member serves a six-year term, and two seats are subject to appointment every two years. Commissioners can, however, serve after their terms expire if they are not replaced. By law, no more than three commissioners can be members of the same political party, and at least four votes are required for any official commission action. The restriction on the number of commisioners per political parties is to ensure that all decisions taken are nonpartisan and not influenced by politics.
Following Matthew Petersen's resignation on August 31, 2019, the commission had only three members, and was unable to conduct most of its regulatory and decision-making functions. It has not had six members for several years following Ann Ravel's resignation in March 2017, Lee Goodman's resignation in February 2018, and Caroline Hunter's resignation in June 2020.
Donald Trump nominated James E. Trainor III on September 14, 2017. After he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 19, 2020, the commission's quorum was briefly restored, and one meeting was held online, due to the coronavirus pandemic, on June 18, 2020. A week later, however, Caroline Hunter resigned, with the result that the FEC once again lacked a quorum.
The chairmanship of the commission rotates among the members each year, with no member serving as chairman more than once during a six-year term. However, a member may serve as chair more than once by serving beyond the six-year mark if no successor is appointed; for example, Ellen L. Weintraub was chairperson in 2003, 2013, and 2019.

Official duties

The commission's role is limited to the administration of 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, audits a limited number of campaigns and organizations for compliance, and administers the presidential public funding programs for presidential candidates. Until 2014, the committee 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 by 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. Private organizations are legally prohibited from using these data to solicit new individual donors, but may use this information to solicit political action committees. 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.

Criticism

Campaign finance

Critics of the FEC, including campaign finance reform supporters such as Common Cause and Democracy 21, have complained that it is a classic example of 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.

First Amendment issues

Critics including former FEC chairman Bradley Smith and Stephen M. Hoersting, executive director of the Center for Competitive Politics, criticize the FEC for pursuing overly aggressive enforcement theories that 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, but others argue that deadlocks are actually quite rare, and typically based on principle rather than partisanship. 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.

Commissioners

Current

Former