[Guide] Registering with the FEC to Report Finances
This guide is a simple summary of this this 196 page guide.This is a very brief introduction to campaign finance, and since Reddit only lets me write about 5 pages worth of content in each of these guides, I would like to warn you (especially if you are the treasurer for a campaign and your campaign plans to spend or raise over $5,000), you should definitely read the full guide from the FEC.
Video guide available here.
Next week's guide will be more about how to raise/spend/report finances.
Section 1: Why You Need Money
My congressman spent over $275,000 dollars on this campaign last year (2011, not an election year). Guess how much of that came out of his own pocket? Around $47. He spent the money on some plastic silverware for a fundraiser luncheon, a luncheon that probably netted him into the thousands. A simple $47 investment (the diners paid for their own lunches for triple their market value, I'm sure) turned his campaign into a vote-vaccuuming machine.
The truth is, you won't need to spend a lot of money on hiring a good web designer, a good campaign manager, or petitioners. That's what volunteers are for, and if you know enough people, you can probably find voluneers who will run your campaign for you. These are the things politicians in the Republican and Democratic parties spend their money on – they operate on the fallacy that a paid signature-collector can do a better job than an ethusiastic (or even zealous) young volunteer. The reason you need money for your campaign is so that you can get your voice out, though. Your number one cost should be at the print shop: printing those brochures. You may also run ads in your local newspapers or websites, but if you are going to run a successfull campaign, expect to spend at least $500 dollars on brochures before you're even on the ballot (see the guide "getting on the ballot" to see how to use brocures when you petition for signatures). If you actually do end up on the ballot, you're going to be spending a lot more than that.
Section 2: How not to raise money
This guide is not about raising money. That's coming in a different guide. But I think this stuff should be repeated in both guides.
(1) It is illegal to take a political donation from anyone larger than $x if you are running a "clean election." Clean elections are used in Maine, Arizona, North Carolina, New Mexico, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts. If you live in one of these states, you must do independent research to determine (a) if clean elections laws in your state apply to those running for Federal positions, (b) what the current clean elections laws are, as several courts have lately been determining them unconstitutional, and (c) what the maximum dollar amount you can raise from individuals is. This information VARIES BY STATE, and I don't want to do that work for you. Go here to find out who to ask.
(2) If you do collect money from someone, remember that you need to record their name, address, occupation, and date of donation if the money is over $50 or is being spent on campaign materials. Give the money to your campaign treasurer (you can be your own treasurer) within 10 days. Your treasurerer has to report this money to the FEC.
Section 3: The FEC, or, What to do once you've raised money
The FEC requires you to register an official political PAC with them if your campaign spends or raises more than $5000 for your campaign. Many states require a similar registration process for political candidates, but again, you have to do that research on your own. To find out who to contact about your state filing laws, click here.
Up until you've reached the $5,000 mark, you don't need to be involved with the FEC at all. As soon as you hit 5k, though, you need to send them the names, addresses, occupations, and date of donations for anyone whose money counts towards that $5,000. Additionally, you are required to start an official PAC. You can call this "Friends of Marty Mcfly" (substitute your name) or "McFly for Congress" if you want to do what most politicians do.
Starting a PAC
In order to be legal with the FEC, you must start a "campaign committee" (herein referred to as PAC). There are no exceptions to this rule. You can, however, be the only person in your committee, if you want. Here's how it works.
Step 1: Make a checking or savings account for your campaign at a local bank or credit union. All your campaign money (usually just over $5000) needs to be in there.
Step 2: Obtain an FEC Form 2 and fill it out about you and the name of your official PAC. This form indicates you as the political candidate. If this is your first time running for office, leave your "FEC identification number" as blank. Where it asks if this statement is "new or amended," say "new" if you have never run for office before. For "office sought" just write "House" or "Senate;" you don't need to write out "United States Senator for New York's First District" or anything silly like that. In the "state and district" section, just write "YourState – nth Congressional District."
Step 3: Obtain an FEC Form 1 (Statement of Origin). The most important thing on this form is designating an official treasurer. He/she is the only one allowed in your campaign to handle finances. You can be your own treasurer. If your campaign screws up with campaign finance laws, the treasurer is responsible. For more information on choosing a treasurer, see this guide. A "replacement treasurer" can be designated on this form at the top of page 4, but that person can only handle money if the original treasurer is absent for whatever reason (sick, dead, out of state) for the rest of the campaign. This person is called the "designated agent." The "DATE" on this form must indicate when your campaign raised or spent it's 5000th dollar. If this is your campaign's only PAC, you should mark "principal campaign committee" underneath the "type of committee" section. The CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS is your bookkeeper, and for most smaller campaigns, is the same person as the treasurer. This form should be signed by your treasurer!
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Once everything becomes official, you need to file quarterly reports on your campaign's income and expenses. The required dates for quarterly filings haven't been announced for 2012, but they should appear here. Quartlery reports can/should be filed online with FECfile once you have finished 1-3 above. The next guide will explain this process quite thoroughly.
Posted Dec 2, 2011, 10:42 PM UTC