Federal Election Commission: Difference between revisions

The '''Federal Election Commission''' ('''FEC''') is an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent regulatory agency]] of the [[United States]] whose purpose is to enforce [[Campaign finance in the United States|campaign finance law]] in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the [[Federal Election Campaign Act]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/30106|title=52 U.S. Code § 30106 - Federal Election Commission|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en|access-date=June 3, 2017}}</ref> 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."  

== History and membership ==

The commission had fewer than six commissioners for several years after the resignation of [[Ann Ravel]] (Democratic) in March 2017. President [[Donald Trump]] nominated [[James E. Trainor III]] (Republican) on September 14, 2017, for a term expiring on April 30, 2023,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Six Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate Today |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/six-nominations-one-withdrawal-sent-senate-today/|language=en-US|via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |access-date=2020-05-19}}</ref> to enable replacement for [[Lee E. Goodman|Lee Goodman]] (Republican), who resigned in February 2018, creating a second vacancy. When [[Matthew S. Petersen|Matthew Petersen]] (Republican) resigned on August 31, 2019, the commission had only three commissioners, and was unable to conduct most of its regulatory and decision-making functions due to lack of a quorum.<ref name="fec-vacancies" />  

The chair of the commission rotates among the commissioners each year, with no commissioner serving as chair more than once during a six-year term. However, a commissioner may serve as chair more than once if they serve beyond the six-year mark and no successor is appointed; for example, [[Ellen Weintraub|Ellen L. Weintraub]] (Democratic) was chair in 2003, 2013 and 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fec.gov/about/leadership-and-structure/ellen-l-weintraub/|title=Ellen L. Weintraub|work=Federal Election Commission |access-date=January 9, 2020}}</ref> The chair of the commission in 2021 is [[Shana M. Broussard]], who was elected on December 22, 2020, succeeding [[James E. Trainor III]].<ref name="Chair2021"/>

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.<ref name=":1" /><ref>52 U.S.C. §§ 30106, 30107.</ref> Critics have argued that the even number of commissioners and the supermajority requirement was a “set up for deadlock and political shenanigans,”<ref>Boatright, Robert G. ''The Deregulatory Moment?: A Comparative Perspective on Changing Campaign Finance Laws''. University of Michigan Press 62 (2015).</ref> especially in an age of polarization.<ref name=":1" />

Because of the quorum requirement, and the failure of President Trump in nominating replacement commissioners, the FEC was unable to function from late August 2019 to December 2020, with an exception of May to July 2020.

Critics of the commission also argue that the membership structure regularly causes deadlocks on 3-3 votes,<ref>[http://www.ombwatch.org/node/11215 CREW Sues the Federal Election Commission over Case Dismissals, OMB Watch, August 17, 2010] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120221220953/http%3A//www.ombwatch.org/node/11215 |date=February 21, 2012 }}</ref> but others argue that deadlocks are actually quite rare,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fec.gov/members/former_members/smith/smithstatement05.pdf|title=Opening Statement of Bradley A. Smith, Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, Before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, June 4, 2004}}</ref> and typically based on principle rather than partisanship.<ref>[http://moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/news.html?AID=1410 Politics (and FEC enforcement) make strange bedfellows: The Soros book matter, Bob Bauer, More Soft Money Hard Law, January 29, 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915223222/http://moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/news.html?AID=1410 |date=September 15, 2011 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=NConfessore>{{cite news|last1=Confessore|first1=Nicholas|title=Election Panel Enacts Policies by Not Acting |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/us/politics/election-panel-enacts-policies-by-not-acting.html|access-date=August 26, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=August 25, 2014}}</ref>

==Commissioners==