Federal Election Commission 

Freedom of Information Act Annual Report 

Fiscal Year 2011 

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT 

1. Person(s) to be contacted with questions about the Report. 

 

Lawrence L. Calvert, Jr., Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer 

Candace J. Salley, Freedom of Information Act Requester 

 Service Center 

Federal Election Commission 

999 E Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20463 

 (202) 694-1650 

 2. Electronic link for access to the Report on the agency Web site. 

http://www.fec.gov/press/foia.shtml 

 3. How to obtain a copy of the Report in paper form. 

Contact: FOIA Requester Service Center, ATTN: Candace J. Salley 

Federal Election Commission 

999 E Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20463 

 (202) 694-1650 

II. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST 

 1. Agency components that receive FOIA requests. 

Federal Election Commission 

FOIA Requester Service Center, ATTN: Candace J. Salley 

999 E Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20463 

(202) 694-1650 

(202) 219-1043 (fax number) 

foia@fec.gov (email address) 
 2. Brief description of why some requests are not granted and an overview of 

 certain general categories of the agency’s records to which the FOIA 

exemptions apply: 

By far, the most frequent reason requests are denied at the Federal 

Election Commission (FEC) is that the agency has no responsive records. 

The FEC is an independent regulatory agency with jurisdiction over the 

financing of campaigns in federal elections (that is, those for President 

and Vice President of the United States, United States Senator, and 

United States Representative). It also administers the public financing 

program for Presidential elections. The Commission enforces the limits on 

the sources and amounts of contributions to candidates for federal office, 

reviews the registration and periodic reports filed by political committees 

supporting federal candidates, and publicly discloses those reports. Some 

FOIA requests are not granted because requesters do not clearly 

understand the limits on the agency's jurisdiction and ask for documents 

that the agency does not maintain; such as information pertaining to 

elections to state and local office, registration and voting information, and 

information regarding the qualifications of candidates. Other documents 

are not released because the release of conciliation-related material and 

information concerning open enforcement cases is prohibited by the 

Federal Election Campaign Act. See 2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(4) (conciliation) 

and (12) (open enforcement matters). This material is exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA Exemption 3. 

In general, FOIA exemptions apply to the following types of agency 

records (non-exhaustive list): 

• Inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by 

legal privileges (Exemption 5) 

• Information involving matters of personal privacy (Exemptions 6 

and 7(C)) 

(Note: in FY 2011 we only had one full denial of a request based on exemptions) 

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS 

1. Agency-specific acronyms or terms used in this Report. 

FEC – Federal Election Commission 

FECA – Federal Election Campaign Act 

2. Definitions of terms used in this Report: 

a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it 

review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by 

the agency at the initial request level. 

2 
b. Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a 

group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For 

example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8. 

c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are 

pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the 

statutory time period for a response. 

d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized 

basis, a “component” is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an 

Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that 

processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies 

include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall 

and for each principal component of the agency. 

e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a 

FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for its review 

because that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the 

agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it 

responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, 

will then respond to the FOIA requester. 

f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from 

disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information 

under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA. 

g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal 

agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a “thirdparty” request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of 

interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters 

seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., “first-party” requests) 

when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as nonU.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be 

afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well 

as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party 

requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its 

Privacy Act “systems of records” or where a Privacy Act exemption 

applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible 

access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in 

responding to the requester are included in this Report. 

Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency 

for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, 

however, include records for which the agency has received a 

consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported 

separately in Section XII of this Report.) 

3 
h. Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in 

response to a FOIA request. 

i. Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in 

response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their 

entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a 

procedural reason, such as when no records could be located. 

j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 

3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7. 

k. Multi-Track Processing – a system in which simple requests requiring 

relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more 

voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other 

tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet 

another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first 

out basis. 

i. Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA 

request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies 

the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in 

the statute and in agency regulations. 

ii. Simple Request – a FOIA request that an agency using 

multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) 

track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the 

records requested. 

iii. Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using 

multi-track processing places in a slower track based on 

the high volume and/or complexity of the records 

requested. 

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an 

agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold 

other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a 

portion of the request for a procedural reason. 

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or 

administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in 

all respects. 

n. Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably 

describes such records and is made in accordance with published 

rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be 

followed. 

4 
o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a 

request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final 

action in all respects. 

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days 

to process requests or administrative appeals. 

q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond 

to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a 

perfected FOIA request). 

3. Concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions: 

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations 

information 

b. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices 

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another 

 federal law 

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information 

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are 

protected by legal privileges 

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy 

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement 

purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could 

reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) 

would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial 

adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an 

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be 

expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would 

disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations 

or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement 

investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to 

endanger the life or physical safety of any individual 

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial 

 institutions 

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells 

5 
 

 

IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES 

A. Exemption 3 Statutes Relied upon to Withhold Information 

Statute Type of Information 

Withheld Case Citation 

Number of Times 

Relied upon per 

Component 

Total Number of 

Times Relied 

upon by Agency 

2 U.S.C. § 437g(a)(12)(A) 

Any notification or 

investigation made under 

this section of the Federal 

Election Campaign Act 

pertaining to federal 

campaign funds 

Citizens for 

Responsibility and 

Ethics in Washington 

v. FEC, No. 04-1672, 

slip op. at 5 (D.D.C. 

May 16, 2005). 

AGENCY 

OVERALL1 

7 

1

 The Federal Election Commission does not have any component offices, therefore all data reported is 

for the agency as a whole. 

6 
V. FOIA REQUESTS 

A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

Start of Fiscal 

Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Received in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Processed in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

End of Fiscal 

Year 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 13 83 82 14 

7 
Number 

of Full 

Number 

of 

Partial 

Grants/ 

Partial 

Number of 

Full Denials 

Based on 

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Ex

Grants Denials Exemptions 

No 

Records 

All Records 

Referred to 

Another 

Component 

or Agency 

Request 

Withdrawn 

FeeRelated 

Reason 

Records not 

Reasonably 

Described 

Improper 

FOIA 

Request 

for Other 

Reason 

Not 

Agency 

Record 

AGENCY OVERALL 35 30 1 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 

B. (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests – All Processed Requests 
B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests – “Other” Reasons for “Full Denials 

 

 

Component 

Description of “Other” 

Reasons for Denials from 

Chart B (1) & Number of Times 

Those Reasons Were Relied 

upon 

TOTAL 

Description # 

AGENCY OVERALL N/A 0 

B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests – Number of Times Exemptions Applied 

Ex. 

1 

Ex. 

2 

Ex. 

3 

Ex. 

4 

Ex. 

5 

Ex. 

6 

Ex. 

7(A) 

Ex. 

7(B) 

Ex. 

7(C) 

Ex. 

7(D) 

Ex. 

7(E) 

Ex. 

7(F) 

Ex. 

8 

Ex. 

9 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 11 7 7 15 17 2 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 

9 
 

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF 

FOIA REQUESTS 

A. Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals 

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 

Number of 

Appeals Pending 

as of Start of 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals 

Received in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals 

Processed in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals 

Pending as of 

End of Fiscal 

Year 

3 1 3 1 

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals 

Number 

Affirmed 

on Appeal 

Number Partially 

Affirmed & Partially 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal 

Number Completely 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal 

Number of 

Appeals 

Closed for 

Other 

Reasons 

TOTAL 

1 2 0 0 3 

C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions Applied 

Ex. 

1 

Ex. 

2 

Ex. 

3 

Ex. 

4 

Ex. 

5 

Ex. 

6 

Ex. 

7(A) 

Ex. 

7(B) 

Ex. 

7(C) 

Ex. 

7(D) 

Ex. 

7(E) 

Ex. 

7(F) 

Ex. 

8 

Ex. 

9 

0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

10 
Records S

Referred Improper D

at Initial Fee- Records not Request Not Duplicate Re

No Request Request Related Reasonably for Other Agency Request Request in E

Records Level Withdrawn Reason Described Reasons Record or Appeal Litigation Pr

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Description of “Other” Reasons for 

Denial on Appeal from Chart C (2) & 

Number of Times Those Reasons Were TOTAL 

Relied upon 

Description # 

N/A 0 

C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other than Exemptions C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – “Other” Reasons from Section VI, C (2) Chart 
C. (4) Response Time for Administrative Appeals 

 (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals 

Median Number Average Number Lowest Number Highest Number 

of Days of Days of Days of Days 

79 246 78 581 

C.

10th 

Oldest O

Appeal 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd A

Date of Receipt of Ten Date Oldest Appeals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9Number of Days # Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
VII. FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS 

A. Processed Requests – Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPE

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 27 44.4 0 330 144 309 115 931 17 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPE

Median Average Lowest Highest Median Average Lowest Highest Median 

Number Number Number Number Number Number Number Number Number 

of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 29 48.9 0 330 155 344.2 115 931 12.5 

B. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was Granted 
1-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100 101-120 121-140 141-160 161-180 181-200 201-3

Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Day

AGENCY OVERALL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

C. Processed Requests – Response Time in Day Increments 

Simple Requests 

1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-100 

Days 

101-120 

Days 

121-140 

Days 

141-160 

Days 

161-180 

Days 

181-200 

Days 

201-3

Day

AGENCY OVERALL 29 25 7 1 3 3 0 1 1 0 2 

Complex Requests 

1-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100 101-120 121-140 141-160 161-180 181-200 201-3

Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Day

AGENCY OVERALL 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 

Requests Granted Expedited Processing 
 

 

D. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED 

PROCESSING 

Number 

Median 

Number 

Average 

Number Number 

Median 

Number 

Average 

Number Number 

Median 

Number 

Average 

Number 

Pending of Days of Days Pending of Days of Days Pending of Days of Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 7 84 86.8 7 119 119 0 0 0 

E. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests As Of 9/30/11 

10th Oldest 

Request 

and 

Number of 

Days 

Pending 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 

Oldest 

Request 

and 

Number 

of Days 

Pending 

Agency 

Overall 

Date 

6/9/11 

Number of 

Days 

79 

6/2/11 

84 

6/2/11 

84 

4/19/11 

115 

4/13/11 

119 

4/1/11 

127 

3/28/11 

131 

3/8/11 

145 

1/24/11 

175 

10/4/10 

249 

15 
 

 

 

 

 

VIII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE 

WAIVER 

A. Requests for Expedited Processing 

Number 

Granted 

Number 

Denied 

Median 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

Number 

Adjudicated 

Within Ten 

Calendar 

Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 3 5 0 2.8 8 

B. Requests for Fee Waiver 

Number 

Granted 

Number 

Denied 

Median 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 N/A N/A 

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS 

Column 1 Column 2 

PERSONNEL COSTS 

Number of 

“Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees” 

Number of 

“Equivalent 

Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees” 

Total 

Number 

of “FullTime 

FOIA 

Staff” 

(The sum 

of 

Columns 

1 & 2) 

Processing 

Costs 

(At initial 

request and 

appeal 

levels) 

LitigationRelated 

Costs 

Total Costs 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 1 1 $158,328.48 $21,101.25 $179,429.73 

16 
 

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS 

Total Amount of Fees 

Collected 

Percentage of Total Costs 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 N/A 

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS 

PUBLIC RECORDS AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 

11 CFR 4.1 Definitions. 

11 CFR 4.2 Policy on disclosure of records. 

11 CFR 4.3 Scope. 

11 CFR 4.4 Availability of records. 

11 CFR 4.5 Categories of exemptions. 

11 CFR 4.6 Discretionary release of exempt records. 

11 CFR 4.7 Requests for records. 

11 CFR 4.8 Appeal of denial. 

11 CFR 4.9 Fees. 

17 
 

 

 

XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS 

A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

AGENCY OVERALL 13 1 

3. Explanation of Backlog. 

Due to the press of other business, limitations on resources (including the 

departure of the FOIA Public Liaison during the last quarter of the fiscal 

year), and a handful of particularly voluminous requests, the agency was 

not able to process as many FOIA requests as expected in FY 2011. 

B. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending 

Consultations 

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that Were 

Pending at Your 

Agency as of 

Start of the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultation 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

During the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other 

Agencies that 

Were 

Processed by 

Your Agency 

During the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other 

Agencies that 

Were Pending 

at Your Agency 

as of End of 

the Fiscal Year 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 1 1 0 

18 
 

 

 

C. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from 

Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency 

10th Oldest 

Consultation 

and Number 

of Days 

Pending 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 

Oldest 

Consultation 

and Number 

of Days 

Pending 

Agency 

Overall 

Date 

N/A 

Number of 

Days 

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

D. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual 

Report – Requests Received, Processed, and Backlogged 

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 

NUMBER OF REQUESTS 

RECEIVED 

NUMBER OF REQUESTS 

PROCESSED 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 77 83 81 82 

Column 1 Column 2 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report 

AGENCY OVERALL 10 13 

19 
 

 

 

 

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current 

Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged 

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 

NUMBER OF APPEALS 

RECEIVED 

NUMBER OF APPEALS 

PROCESSED 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 2 1 0 3 

Column 1 Column 2 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report 

AGENCY OVERALL 1 1 

20 

F. Discussion of Other FOIA Activities (Optional) 

N/A