THE FEDERAL ELE010N COMJv1ISSION 

The 

First 10 

Years 

1975-1985 
COlvlMISSIO ERS EX OFFICIO COMMISS10NERS STATUTORY OFFICERS 

John Warren McGarry. Cllmrmall Jo -Anne L. Cce, St'fr('Jarv <J{ 11", Seuate John C. Su rina , Sial} D,Ta /pr 

Joan D. Aikens. VI....Chturman Ben jamin J. Guthrie. Clerk,' th« HU llS<' Charles ' . Steele. C"''''raJCCl/III,d 

Lee Ann Elliott 

Thomas E. Harris 

Danny L. McDonald 

Frank P. Reiche 

Message from th e Chairman 

April 1985 ma rked the Fed eral Election Co mmission's 10th yea r of operatio ns. This 

report provides th e hist ori cal con tex t in which th e Commission was formed a nd 

describes th e agency's role in ad mi nis teri ng th e Fede ral Election Ca mpaign Act 

du ring th e pa st decade . 

Our g reatest ac hieveme n t has been to provide the most comple te disclosure of 

cam pa ign finan ce informa tion that the na tion has ever had . An arra y of gra p hs. 

pu blished in this volume, suggest the weal th of information genera ted by the 

Commission's disclosure program . 

Mean ingful d isclosure, howeve r, depends on enforcemen t of the law . When th e 

Wa te rga te bubb le burst, people realized that the existing election law was no t be ing 

e nforced . Co ngress recognized that an independent election agency was need ed not 

jus t to ad ministe r the la w but to enforce it. Th us, the Federa l Election Commission 

was crea ted . 

Now, te n yea l~ la ter, the Federal Elec tion Commission has made campaign fina nce 

d isclosu re a nd th e obse rva nce of th e election la w a rea lity . 

Recogni zing tha i th e law is com plex, we will con tinue to provide info rmation to 

help ou r co nstituen ts understan d th e la w . We be lieve this is a n effective way to 

ac hieve com pliance and to effec t compl ete d isclosure . 

April 14. 1985
THE FEDERAL ELECTIO 

CAMPAIG LAWS: 

A SHORT I-IISTORY 

Be/bIL' the 79-1 Federal Electio/l Lau 5 

The first Federal campaign finance legis lation 

was an '1867 law that prohibited Federal officers 

from requesting contributions from lavy Yard 

wo rkers. Over the ne xt hundred years, Congress 

enacted a series of laws which sought broader regulation of Federal campaign financing. These legisla ­

tive initiatives, taken together, so ugh t to: 

• limit contributions to ens u re that wealth v 

individuals and s pecia l interest groups did not 

ha ve a disproportionate in fluence on Federal 

elections; 

• Prohibi t certain sources of funds for Federal 

campaign p urposes; 

• Con tro l campaign spending; and 

• Requ ire public d isclosure of campa ign 

finances to de ter ab us e an d to ed ucate th e 

elector a te. 

This effort to bring abou t more comprehensive 

campaign fina nce reform began in 1907 when Congress passed the Tillman Act, w hich prohibited corpo rations an d na tional banks from contributing 

money to Federal campaigns. Th e first Federal campaign disclosure legislation wa s a 1910 law affecting 

House elections onl y. In 1911, the law was 

amended to cover Senate elections as well , and to 

set spending limits for all Congressional candidates. 

The Federal Corrupt Practices Act of 1925, 

which affe cted general elect ion activity only, 

stre ng the ned disclosure requirements and increased 

expenditure limi ts. The Hatch Act of 1939 and its 

1940 amendments asserted the right of Congress to 

regu lat e pr imary elections and included provisions 

limi tin g con tribu tions and expenditures in Congressiona l elections . The Taft-Hartley Ac t of 1947 ba rred 

bot h labor union s a nd corpora tions from ma king 

expenditu res an d contribu tions in Federa l elections . 

The campaign finance provisions of all of these 

laws were largely ignored, however, because none 

provid ed an institutional fram ework to administer 

their p rov ision s e ffectively. The laws had o the r 

flaw s as well. For example, spending limits applied 

onlv to committees active in two or more States. 

Further. candidates could avoid the spending limit 

and d isclosure requirements altogether because a 

ca ndida te who cla imed to have no knowledge of 

spe nd ing on his behalf was not liable under the 

1925 Act . 

Th e evasion of disclosure provisions beca me 

evident when Congress passed the more stringent 

d isclosu re p ro visions of th e 1971 Federal Electio n 

Campaign Act (FECA). In 1968, still unde r the old 

law , House and Sen at e cand id ates reported spe nd ­

ing $8.5 million, w hile in 1972, a fter the passage of 

the FECA, s pe ndi ng re ported by Co ng ressiona l cand ida tes jum ped to $88.9 million. I 

The 1971 Electioll Lau. s 

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

(P.L. 92-225), together with the 1971 Revenue Act 

(P.L. 92-178), ini tia ted fundamental cha nge s in Fed ­

eral campa ign finance laws. The FECA, effective 

April 7, 1972, not only required full reporting of 

campa ign contributions and expenditures, bu t also 

ICrJlJ:-:rl'~" C) li/ Q lIllrtl'r/.1I W(' /}I RrJlorl . Vol. xxvii, I 0 . 49 , December 

5. 1969. p. 2-D::;. Clerk o i th e Hou se, "TIle Ann ual Sta tisti cal Report 

of Con tribu tions and Expendi tu res Made DUring li lt' 1972 Election 

Campaigns for th e U.S. Hou se of Represe ntatives" ( 1974), p. 161; 

Secr eta ry oj the Se nate, "The An nual Statistical Report o f Receipts 

and Expend itures Made on Connec tion w ilh Elccn ons fur Ihe U.S. 

Scn a r... in 1972" [u nd a ted], p 33. 
limited spending on media advertisements: (These 

limits were la ter repealed .) 

The FECA also provided the basic legislative 

framework for separate segregated funds,' popularly 

referred to as PACs (poli tical action com mittees), 

established by corporations and unions. Altho ugh 

the Tillman Act and th e Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 

banned direct contribution s by corpo rations and labor unions to influence Federal elections, the FECA 

provid ed an exception whereby rp orati ~n and 

uni ons could use tre asury fund s to establish, operate and solici t voluntary contribu tions for th e organization's separate segregated fund (i.e ., PAC). 

The se voluntar y donations cou ld then be used to 

contribu te to Fed era l races. 

Under the Reven ue Act-the first of a series of 

laws implemen ting Fed eral financing of Pr ~id ent ial

elections-citizens could check a box on their tax 

forms authorizin g the Fed eral go vernment to use 

one of th eir tax dolla rs to finance Presidential cam ­

paigns in the general election. " Congress implemented th e program in 1973 and, by 1976, eno ug h 

tax mon ey had accumulat ed to ~lln the ~6 el.ection-the first publicly fund ed Fed eral election 111 

U.S. history. 

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 did 

not provide for a sing le, indepe nde nt bod y to. monito r and enforce the law . Instead, th e Clerk 0 1 th e 

House, the Secretary of the Sena te and the Comptroll er Gen eral of th e United Sta tes General Accounting Office (GAO) mon itored complian ce with 

the FECA, and the Justice Dep artment wa s resp on ­

sible for prosecu ting viola tions of the law referred 

by the overseeing officials. Following th e 1972 elections, alt hough Congr essional officials referred 

abou t 7,000 cas es to the Justic e Department, and 

the Comp tro ller Gen eral referred about 100 cases to 

[ustice." few were litigat ed . 

1974 Amendments 

Not until 1974, following th e documentation of 

campaign abuses in the 1972 Presidential elections, 

did a consen sus emerge to crea te an independent 

body to en sure complian ce with the campaign finance laws. Comprehensive amend men ts to the 

FECA (P.L. 93-443) establis he d the Federal Election 

Commission , an independent agency to assume the 

administrat ive functions previou sly di vided between Congressional officers and GAO . Th e Commission was give n ju risdi ction in civil enforcement 

matters, authority to wr ite regul ations and responsibilitv for monitoring com pliance wi th the FECA. 

Additionally, the am endments transferred fr~m

GAO to th e Commission the function of se rvll1g as 

a national clearinghou se for info rmation on the administration of elections. 

Unde r the 1974 am endments, the President, 

the Speaker of the House and the Presid ent pro 

tempore of the Senate each appoin ted two of the 

six voting Commission ers. The Secretary of the Sen ­

a te and the Clerk of th e House were designa ted 

nonvot ing, ex officio Commissioners. The first 

Commissioners were sworn in on April 14, 1975. 

The 1974 amendments also completed the system curren tly used for the public financing of Pre sidential electfons. The ame nd ments provided for 

partial Fed eral funding, in the form of match ing 

funds, for Presiden tial primary candidates and also 

extended public fundin g to political parties t.o finance th eir Presidential nominating con ventions. 

Complem enting these provision s, Con gress 

also enacted strict limits on both contributions and 

expe nd itures. These limits applied to all candidates 

for Fede ral office and to political committees influenci ng Federal elecfions .s 

Another amendment relaxed a 1939 prohibition 

on contribu tions from Federal government con tractors. The FECA , as amended, now permitted corpora tions and unions with Fede ral contracts Lo establish an d operate PACs . 

BllCk/t!y v. valeo 

Key provisions of the 1974 amendments we re 

immediately cha llenged as un constitutional in a 

lawsu it filed by Sen ator Jame s L. Buckley (Republican Sena tor from New York) and Eugen e McCarthy 

(former Dem ocratic Sen at or from Minnesota) 

against the Sec reta ry of the Sena te, Francis R. Valeo. The Supreme Court handed down its ru ling on 

January 30, 1976. Buckley v. valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976). 

:"Con lrib ution" and " expend iture" are special terms defined In 2 

u.s.c. a nd II CFR. 

1ri segregated fund " is a special ter m defined in 2 U.s. c. 

and 11 CFR. 

' In 1966. Congress e nac ted a law to provide for public fundi ng of 

Presid en tial elections. but sus pended the law a year la ter. II wo uld 

have included a ta: payer s' checkoff provision similar to lhat later 

embodied in the 197) law. 

'Comp troller General of th e Uni led Sta les. " Report of the Office of 

Federa l Elections of th e Ge ne ral Acco unting O ffice in Ad mi nis tering 

the Fed era l Electio n Ca mpa ign ACI of 1971" (February 1975). 1'1'. 23 

a nd 

"" Polilic,, 1 commit tee" is ,1 special te rm defined in 2 U.S.c. and II 

CFR. 

2 
The Court up hel d co n tribution lim its because 

they served the governme nt's interest in safeguarding the in teg rity of electio ns . However, the Cou rt 

ove rtu rne d the expend itu re limi ts, stating: " It is 

clea r th at a p rimary effect of th ese ex pend itu re limitati ons is to restrict the qua n tity of campaign 

s pe ec h by individ ua ls, groups an d candidates. The 

res trictions . . . limit political expression at the core 

of our electoral process and of Firs t Ame ndmen t 

free doms." Ackn owledging tha t both cont rib ution 

an d spending lim its had First Amend ment irnplicalions, the Co urt staled tha t the ne w law's "expenditure ceilings impose sig ni fica nt ly mo re severe rest rictions on p rotected freedom of political 

expressio n and associa tion tha n do its lim itat ions 

on fina ncial contr ibutions ." The Court implied, 

how ever, tha t the ex pe ndi tu re limits placed on p ublicly fund ed ca nd ida tes were consti tutional because 

Presidential ca ndi da tes were free to disregard the 

limits if th ey chose to reject pu blic fina nci ng; later, 

the Co ur t a ffirmed th is ru ling in Republican National 

Committee v. FEe. 445 U.S. 955 (1980). 

The Co urt also sustained ot her provisions of 

th e p ublic fu ndi ng law and u pheld d isclosur e a nd 

recorctkeeping req uiremen ts. Howev er, th e Cou rt 

found th at th e met hod of appoi nting FEC Commissione rs violated the constitu tional pr inc iple of se parati on of powers, since Congress, no t the President, 

appointed fou r of the Commissioners, who exercise d execu tive powers. As a result, beginning on 

March 22, 1976, th e Commission could no longer 

exe rcise its execu tive powers." The age ncy resumed 

full ac tivity in May, w he n, u nde r the 1976 amendments to th e FECA, the Co mmission was reco nstitut ed a nd the Preside nt a ppoi n ted six Commission 

me mb ers, w ho we re confirmed by the Sena te. 

1976 /vnendments 

In response to th e Supre me Co urt's decision, 

Congress revised cam paign finance legislation yet 

again . The new amendments, enacted on May 11, 

Supreme Court stayed its [udgme nt concerning Commission 

powe rs for 30 da ys: 11 ll' Slay was extended once. 

1976, repealed ex penditu re limits (exce p t for candidates w ho accep ted pu blic funding) a nd revi sed th e 

p rovision gove rning the appoi ntmen t of Commissioners. 

The 1976 ame ndme n ts con taine d ot he r 

changes, includi ng provisions that limited th e scope 

of PAC fund raisi ng by co rpora tions a nd labor o rga niza tions. Preced ing this cu rtailme n t of PAC solicita tions, th e FEe had issued an advisory opinio n, 

AO 1975-23 (the SunPAC opi n ion), con firm ing that 

th e 1971 law permitted a corpora tion to use treasury money to esta blish, opera te and so licit con tributions to a PAC. The opi nion also pe rmitte d cor porations and their PACs to solici t the cor poration's 

employees as well as its stockholders. Th e 1976 

ame ndments, however, put significan t restrictions 

on PAC solicita tio ns, specifying who could be 

solici ted and how solicita tions would be cond ucted. 

In add itio n, a single co ntri bu tion lim it was adop ted 

for all PACs established by the same union or 

corpora tion. 

1979 /vnicndmcnt« 

Bu ild ing upon th e experience of th e 1976 an d 

1978 elections, Congress made further changes in 

the la w . Th e 1979 amendments to th e FECA (P. L. 

96-187), enacted on January 8, 1980, includ ed provisions tha t simplified reportin g requirements, encouraged pa rty activity a t Sta te an d local levels and 

increased the public fu ndi ng gra n ts for Pres iden tial 

nomin at ing co nven tions. Minor am endments were 

adopted in 1977, 1982. 1983 and 1984. 

Su111 in«ry 

In one decade, Congress ha s fu nd amentally altered th e regulat ion of Federa l campaign finances. 

Through the passage of th e Reve nu e Ac t, th e FECA 

a nd its amendments, Congress h as provi ded pu blic 

fina ncing for Pre sidential ele ctions, limited con tributions in Federal elections, requ ired substa ntial 

disclosu re of campa ign financia l activity and crea ted 

an independen t agency to ad mi nister and enforce 

th ese p rovisions. 

3 
Campaign Finance Statistics 

The elec tion laws have resulted in substantial data on Federal campaign finance . These selected graphs, 

cove ring the past several years, display some of this informa tion. 

PARTY COMMITTEES 

PPORT OF FEDERAL ANDIDATE 

INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES~

• For l"tnhlrn ll.ll .andttl.a IMl 

"'or • "f\.)h' C.lI'l4.JkJ"h 

hI' tl uu dOlhdoi lt 

• A~"n'" I'r,·,..,I,·nti.&1 amtk14h"'40 

A~l ln' icnatc <.... I\4,hd.l

~U\~I Il ou~ .1ntJid.tl 

• bfl''11JUurt'''· 

• Cuntnburllll\'" 

-

I .1 -

I 

I 

PRESIDE IAL . ATE IIOU E 

A D1DATE C,\ NDIDATES A 'DIDATES 

I 

POLITICAL ACTION COMMITIEES ' 

U IBER OF COMMllTE • UPPORT OF FEDERAL ANDIDAT : 

• 

1m unrnbuhoo.. 

1. Cunlnbulkm'lo 

I~ Cunlnbuhotn 

I~ onlnbuIH1ft' 

Il'dC'rr:'nd,'nl 

EJ,f"t-nJ llun

-

• 

• 

4 
PRESIDE TIAL FU D: TAX CHECKOFF 

r0 1.11 Chc kOll 

\ 

1980 GENERAL 1984 GENERAL 

h'\Jt't'.JI FunJ", 

, ".. U\ · f, -ndltUh:"" A nd er on • It'kh id LU on u,buUOfb 

Luc 'Y • ConlnbutKJn k~ Cnmrl&oU'kr J-un..t Mondale 

Ferraro 

art -r 

Mondale 

Reagan 

Reagan Bush 

Bush 

PRESIDE TIAL FUNDING ) 

19 PRIMARY 19 PRJ IARY 

(D)Brown . I 

(D)Carter :::::-. (D) Kennedy 

(D)l.JRouche 

(R) Anderson __'_ .-" 

(R)Baker 

(R) Cunn.llly (Rl Bush :::::~

• Ind .. >d.... Contnt'Uu"ft> 

FNn \ ldurlJl: Fund~

.....n\ 

Othn' 

(0) "l'\ \ . 

(D) Cranston _ 

(0) GICM :::~ (D) Hart 

(D) Holling I 

(D) [ackson _ 

(D)l.JRouche • 

(D) kGo\'l'rn I I 

(OJ Mondalc •••••••• 

(R) Crane 

(R) Dole 

(R) Reagan •••••••••

IL) Bergland I 

(LlOa rk (0 Johnson I 

(R)Rcagan ••••••• 

5 
SE ATE ANDIDATES, 1984" HOUSE CAl DIDA , 19 • 

• tndivt du..1 tlnln bul

PACI CunlnhuhtJn'\ 

r olr1v Con tnbuuon .. 

r~ rty E' rmJuur .. ClIndk1.th.'Co ntn bul n,, '\ 

C.lndui.:alc.' Ul.IM 

OthnlD 

I I J I I .I

I I UMBEl rs CHALLENGER PEl\! SEAT INCUMBEl\"1 CIIALLE GERS OPEN EAT 

6 

SOURCES OF FUNDJNG

SENATE CA DIDATES HOUSE CA DIDATES 

160 ~hlll ..n 5250 M,IIi.1n 

J ;[ 10,tl\ 'hlUoIl (."'lnl"l ·ul ""l" 

.lfh t Olh," . 

• I',\ l l ( Il ~u tk~

• I' JI\ 1' J"I·n..IlIU"'" 

lo..rt vC••nlf, I".h••n... 

$ 120 .~ulu. , ' .l\ln N li•.n.. .., Il:J. 

Sloo sisol 

J 

J 

J 

1978 1980 198-1 197 ' I'Jill! IYS2 

CAMPAIGN SPENDING 

SENATE CA D1DATES" HOUSE CANDIDATES· 

SlJ.S4....... 

m .IJOO.S299.Wl 55. 5019.­

.UXl-S'.I9'l.m 55O.1JOO.59'1._ 

• SI,ml.lUl+ Sllll.lXlJ • 

SlJ.$2UW· 

I 
SPENDING BY HOUSE CAN DIDATES, 1984 1l 

2% 

INC MBENTS OPE ' EAT 

53 % 

SIH2~.999

• S2.~ .oo)'SY9.999

• SI OO oro-S2~9

S2S0.lXXl . 

SO URCES OF FUNDI G" 

HOUSE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES HOUSE DE1I. \OCRAT IC CANDIDATE 

$120 hllh ," 

$ 100 

IrtJl\IJU.•Jtltfllrlt'ulI, 'lh .. n.1 (1 11\,_,1 1 

• 1',\( , Ctm tnl- utMn.. 

• I~ l\· I ' J'Ondlhlt't.::. · 

I' ( ,.nlfll-tlclun, 

S80 

560 

1 l'JtH l'JiS 1'J!\4 '1:-;2 

$2ll 

'>-11) 

so 

I. A " PAC" (or po litica l ac tio n co mmittee} b 01 pol itical co rnmitu-e that is neith e r ,I ca nd idate rom mittec nor a p,l rly cu m n itt ce , 

2. An "I ndependen t Expe ndi ture" IS an expendi ture for 01 co unn uruca uo n (' .\ rcs~l .1dVI1Cil lon~ lhl' e lectio n o r de reat of a clc.irlv 

ide ntified ca nd idate that is no t mad e wi th 11 1(' coope ration or pri or consent Ill. or in co ns ulta uo u WIth, III .11 th e request o r " U l",t;'lIl hb 01. ,lny ca ndi da te 0 1 his/her a uthori zed com m ittees " r agents. 

J. Grap h includes Presid ential ca ndi da tes whose C,'l11 l'olign ac tivu y exceede d '5300.000. 

•1. " O the r" includes refunds, reba tes, Interest , di vide nd s, con rnbutio ns by ca nd ida tes to th ctr own Cill11 p.l'g ns, a nd cu ntn bu no ns 

by com mittees. 

5. "Con tribu tio ns to Co m plia nce Fu nd" <HI' co n tribu tions ma de tu finance leg,,1 and ,ll"co ulltin); se rv ices rela ted 10 compliance with 

th e Federal electio n 1.1\\'$. 

6. Graph co ve rs a ll campaign s pe ndi ng {prima ry, ru noff a nd gcne ralj of candidates running rn the );encra l e lecti on. 

7 Included a re .1 le w indi vidua ls who ha ve rmsed a nd ' pe nt II's ' Ihiln 55,DOO a nd a re then -tor e no t sta tutory "ca nd ida tes" unde r 

lhe Federa l Election Ca mpaign Act. 

8. Gra p h covers general electio n ca nd idates, showing th eir sources of fu nd ing in promary , runoff and genNall'leciioll5 

9. " Par ty Expendi tu res" ar c lim ited expenduures made by pM ly committees on behalf o j Federa l candidate 111 the gCI1l'r.ll election. 

Ind ependent expe ndi tures mad e in Presiden tial campaigns are show n (>n the lndep -nden t Expendi tures g rilph "II pa!,l' -l. 

10. "O the r" incl udes loa ns, reba tes, refu nds, contributions from unregiste red en liues a nd o ther G1 ll1 p'l ig n commutee s. inte rest and 

d ividen ds. 

I I. Graph covers a ll campaign spl.'ndi n ' [prima rv, runoff ,1I1d ge ner.ll) of major parly candida tes ru nning 111 Ih., ge ne ra l e lec tio n, 

12. " Ind ivid ual Cont nbu tions and O ther" ui clud es co ntribu tio ns from individ ua ls in .11l1111l1llS less tha n S5UU, 1",1115, 10,1ns a nd 

co ntribu tio ns by the ca ndi da te. reba tes, reru nd s. cc rurtbutions [rom ul1 rcg...ter ed en l;ties ilnd ot her (,Im p., ig n committees . in terest 

a nd d ivid ends. 

13. " Individ ua l Cont nbuunn s an d O ther" inc ludes con trib utions ;r,)m md rvid uals, loan '> , )"'HIS ,1I1d con n ibu no ns bv the ca nchda te, 

reba tes, ref unds. con trib u tiuns from un regrstcr ed c nt iue s a nd o ther C,l ll1p,l lhn <:11111111 1111'1'5 , mt cr e-st .m d div idends. . 

7 
COMMISSION ACTIVITIES 

Des pite continued public d ebate on the go vernment regulation of Federal electi on financing, 

the Federal Election Commission is recogni zed as 

playing a necessary role in ove rseeing federal election laws, By the end of 1984, th e Commissi on had 

implemented the Fed eral Electio n Campaign Act 

(the FECA) throughout five election cycles and had 

administ ered the publ ic financin g of three Presiden ­

tial elections. The sections below de cribe the ma jor 

functions the Commission undertakes in pe rforming its role under the electio n law s. 

Ad1llinisteriJlg Public Funding 

Th e FEC ha s overseen the public financing of 

thr ee Presiden tia l election s-in 1976, 1980 and 

1984--and to da te has certified payments to 43 cand ida tes and 6 Democrati c and Republican no mina ting conve n tion committees. The pa ym ents are actually made by the U.S. Treasury Depa rtment. As 

of February 19, 1985, $304 million from the tax 

checkoff fund had been used to fina nce Pre siden tial 

elections. 

Before certifying pa yments, the Commission 

makes su re that those requesting public fu nds ha ve 

met qualifying condition s. Majo r party Presidential 

nominees and convention committees receive outright gran ts, and Presidential primary candidates 

receive Fed eral ma tching fund s for certain contributions they receive. (Up to $250 of an individual's 

contribution is matched with an equivalen t payme nt from the tax checkoff fund .) In addition , the 

law specifies the condition s under which minor 

party candidates and new party candida tes may become eligible for pa rtial public fundi ng of their general election campaigns," 

Th e FEC audits all public funding recip ien ts 

and ma y require repa ymen t of public fund s to the 

U.S. Treas ury under certa in circumstances-for exam ple, if a candidate or convention committee use

Federal money for expenses unrelated to the campa ign . 

The public fund ing programs of 1980 and 1984 

were noteworthy for seve ra l reason s. In 1980, the 

Commission ce rtified the first publ ic funds to a new 

pa rty cand id ate, John Anderson, who received ove

$4 millio n sho rtly after the general ele ction . This 

post-election funding was based on the nu mber of 

vo tes he received in the e lection . In 1984, Sonia 

Johnson became the first third -pa rty candidate to 

receive prima ry matching fund s. Ad di tionally, in 

1984, Presiden t Reaga n became th e first can dida te 

ever to raise enough in ma tcha ble con tribu tions to 

qualify for the maxi m um am ount o f prim ary mat ch

ing fun ds. His campaign rece ived $10.1 million in 

public funds. 

OisclosiJlR 

• <. CaJJlpaiRIl <- Finan ce

[Il/onna!ion 

Public interest in all aspects of campaign financing has stead ily grown through the years. In 

response, the Commission has stepped u p its efforts to make campaign finance da ta available more 

quickly and in more usable formats. 

Com mission disclosure of campaign finance ac

tivity is based on the reports submitted by political 

committees. Th ese re por ts focus on the flow of 

money in and out of campaigns and the so urces of 

'''Major part y: ' "minor part y" and " new party" are special terms 

defined in 26 U.s.c. and 11 CFR. 

8 
campaign suppo rt. The reports are available from 

the Public Record s Office, which was the first of the 

Commission 's offices to be fully staffed and operanve . A store-fron t facility, the Publ ic Records Office 

~ak ~p or available for public review and copymg within 48 hours of receipt. as requ ired by law. 

By the end of 1984, the office had made public 5.59 

million pages of documents. 

In add ition to maintainin g the reports, the 

Commission enters data taken from report s into a 

computer system. The resulting data base has enha.nced. publi c disclosure in several ways. Computzed ind exes, which sort and aggregate reported 

hna.ncial data in a variety of formats, are readily 

available to the pu blic. The first indexes comp iled 

manually by the FEC staff in 1975 a re prim itive 

when com pared to the va riety of FEC computer indexes now available. Utilizing its compu terized data 

base, the Commission pe riodically provides pre ss 

releases summarizing the activity of campaigns, 

part y committees and PACs. The Commission also 

publ!sh es compre he nsive studies of each two-year 

eleCh?n cycle. These Rrp?rts 0" Financiat Activity 

(previous ly called the Distosure St'ries) present cumu lative da ta and provide a bas is for resea rch on 

patterns of campaign fina ncing. The charts on the 

preceding pages-most of them based on these 

published reports-present a sampling of available 

data cove ring seve ral election cycles. 

The Commission, in coopera tion with State officials, initiated a pilot program in 1984 to provide 

several State election offices with direct com puter 

access to FEC campaign finance data." Compu ter 

term inals installed in the offices give the press and 

the public immediate access to three FEC compu ter 

indexes, upda ted daily. Once it has surveyed pu blic 

dema nd for this service, the Commission milY expand the program to encompass more States. 

The growing interest in campaign finance, coupled wit h the wea lth of information ava ilable from 

the Commi ssion , has dra mat ically increased the activity of the FEe's Public Record s Office and Press 

Office. In 1984, the Public Records Office se rved 

17,240 peop le and received 13.183 telephone inquiries. Simila rly, the Press Office assisted 1,922 visitors 

in 1984 and answered 15,317 ph one inquiries. 

Encol/raging Compliance with the Lau: 

From the beginning, the FEe has fostered voluntary compliance with the law by offering infermerion , advi ce and clarification to those see king 

help. 

Central to the age ncy's informat ion and assistan ce Prcgrom art' the toll-free tele pho ne lines. 

They give political commi ttees and candidates direct 

access to Comm ission staff who answe r qu estions 

abou t what the law requires. 

The Commissio n's publications also play a major role in promoting compliance by explain ing the 

law, in easy- to-u nde rstand terms, to a variety of 

readers. Expanded over the years, FEC publi cations 

now include a mo nthly newsletter, in-depth campa ign manuals and a se ries of brochures that focu s 

on specific aspects of the levv , As the number of 

publications has increased. so has the number of reques ts for them; the Commission filled 16,669 orders for FEC materials in alone . In addition , 

through workshops and two-day seminars, Com ­

mission ers and staff provid e tech nical assistance to 

candida tes, parti es and political committees around 

the cou ntry. 

FEC ad visory opinions have also been an effective means of encouraging volun tary compliance. " 

The ad viso ry op inion procedure permits a person 

involved in political campaig ns to request the Com ­

mission 's ad vice on a specific activity and to obtain 

the protection of a binding lega l opinion. Advisorv 

opinions also clarify the law for persons who are in 

the same situation ,15 the pe rson who requ ested the 

opinion . From 1975 to 1984, the Commission issued 

762 ad visory opinions. 

. The age ncy has also recognized that clearly 

written regu lations, which interpret and explain the 

law, con tribute to volun tary compliance. The Commission prescribed its first regulations in 1977 and 

ad.opte d substantial changes in 1980 to help committees und erstand the 1979 amendmen ts 10 the 

law. Since then, the Commission has continued to 

a.mend its rules to clarify them and to address practical problems encounte red by political committees. 

The Commission also makes sugges tions for 

modifying the election law itself. Every year, in accorda nce with the FECA, the Commission submits 

a list of legislati ve recommendations to Congress 

based on the age ncy's experience in administering 

the election law. In the 1979 amendmen ts to the 

FECA, Co ngress ad opted recommendation s from 

the Commission's 1978 A nnu al Report to reduce reporting req uirements and to streng then the role of 

ol.i~ ~1 parties by enco uraging certain grassroots 

acnvrncs . 

'States p.1rticipa1inS in t~ tnt .Ut' C.11ifornia. Coto-ad o, Ceoegta, 

lIlinOt'>. Md $K lt ~lt ... Wa st-llnglon. Rhode Island and Alaba ma . 

9 

••..Advlsory \l1-'mion" ' $ oj P""" i<l ler m u!lKl in 2 U-S.c. and II CFR. 
Monitoring Compliancewith the Law 

The Commission reviews all campaign finance 

reports in orde r to fulfill two of its re sponsibilities: 

to enforce th e law and to d isclose ca m paign finan ce 

data . If an error, omission or other potential viol atio n of the law is discovered, th e agency se nds a 

letter requesting that additional in forma tio n be provided to cla rify or amend information in itially reported . The committee ha s th e op po rtu n ity to 

amend its report voluntarily and help p reserve the 

integrity of the public record . 

Exam in a tio n of a com m ittee's reports sometimes reveals that the committee mav have se rious 

record keepin g problems. In such cases, th e Commission may audit the committee to define th e 

problems and o ffer solu tio ns. Again, th e com m itte e 

may vo lu n ta rily amend its reports. Since 1975, the 

Commission has completed 366 audits. These include the audits of Pre sidential candid ates receiving 

public funding which a re required by law . See the 

ta ble bel ow . 

Occasio nally, as a result o f th e review of th e 

reports, the Commission determines that a committee ma y have serio us re por ting d ifficulties o r o ther 

probl ems, which may result in viola tio ns of the 

law. These determinations ma y deve lop into co mpl iance cases, discussed belo w . 

FEe Audits, 1975-1984 

Presiden tia l" 46 

Pre sidential Join t Fund raising** 6 

Sena te 12 

Hou se 108 

Part y (Nati on al) 38 

Party (O the r) <)7 

PACs 59 

To ta l 366 

'''Presi dc ntla l'' re fers to audi ts of principa l campaign committees of primary a nd ge neral cand idates, and of convenlion committees (both part y and host committees). 

...."residen tial [oint Fundraisi ng" refe rs 10 aud its of commille es established by two 0 1 more political committees, 

one o r mo re of which arc Presiden tial committees, for the 

purpose of join tly raisi ng fun ds. 

Enforcing and Defending the Law 

The Federa l Elec tion Campaign Ac t assigns the 

Commission the duty of d etermining whether a 

candidate or committee has violated the law. Possible violations are brou g ht to the Commission's a ttention either internally-through th e report-review 

procedures and audits d es cribed above-or ex te rnally- through complain ts filed by members of th e 

public or through referrals from other governmen t 

agencies. Once a formal compla int or referral is 

filed, the Commission opens a co mpliance case (refe rred to a s a Matter Under Review or MUR) . The 

Act itself di cta tes the procedures the agency must 

follo w when it opens a case. First, the Commission 

must ke ep th e matter confid entia l until th e case is 

clo sed and put o n the public record . Se cond, the 

Commissi on must give re spondents- those alleged 

to ha ve vio la ted th e law-a reasonable opportunity 

to d emonstrate that no action sh ou ld be taken 

against th em. Fina lly, if th e Com m issi o n find s 

probable ca use to belie ve the law ha s been viol a ted, 

the agency must try to sett le th e case through conciliation pri or to filing a civ il action . 

Bv the e nd o f 1984, the Commission had 

c1osed 'the file on over 1,700 compliance cases. Unti

1979 , a large portion of th ese cases were rela tivel y 

sim p le in nature . Howe ver, in rec ent ye a rs, a 

grea te r number of cases h a ve involve d more co mplex issues requiring detailed legal analysi s and, 

some times, sign ifica n t civil pena lties. 

Some co m p lia nce matters require cou rt action . 

The Commission brin gs s u it w he n it is hampered in 

its duty to in ve st igate alleged viola tio ns- for exa mple, wh e n persons refuse to coopera te in an in ve stigation . The Com m iss ion also files s ui t as a means 

of en fo rcing th e la w if the agency can not re ach a 

co ncilia tio n agreemen t wi th Cl respondent who h as 

viola ted th e law , o r if th e respondent does n o t com

ply wi th the agreement. Moreover, because th e 

FECA a fford s th e com p la ina n t the opportunity to 

cha lle nge th e Commission' s com p lia n ce ac tions, th e 

Commission must sometimes defend its en force ­

ment d ecisions in court. 

The Commiss ion a lso d efends th e co ns titu tiona lity o f the ca m pa ign fin ance law when persons 

bring s u it cla im ing that certa in provisions abrid ge 

rights protected under th e Constitution . Buckley v. 

Va/eo w as the first of th ese co nstitu tio n a l challe nges . ln the Buckley case, a nd in the ca se s th a t 

have follo wed, th e co u rts have had to weigh th e 

va lue of th e law a s a sa feg ua rd on th e integri ty o f 

e lectio ns against its p otential for curtailing co ns titutio nal righ ts. 

O verall, th e Commission's litigat ion ac tivities 

have bee n effective in e n fo rcing and d efendi ng the 

law. Of the 27 court cases closed during 1984, for 

example, the Commissi on's position was u pheld in 

19 cases. The court disagre ed with th e Commission 

in three cases." 

"Of th e remai ning five cases. three were voluntarily dismi ssed 

d uri ng the Yl'ar and another two we re dism issed as moot . 

10 
Servingas aClearinghouse on 

Election /vii nini stration 

The FEe's Clearinghouse o n Election Administra tio n provides in form a tion service s to St ate and 

local election agencies. In contrast with the Commission's primary purpose of regu lating th e flow of 

money in Federa l e lec tion s, the Clea ring ho use focuse s on assisting Slate and local jurisdictions in 

the administrative conduct o f the elections themse lves . Established und er th e 1971 Act as part of 

the General Acc oun tin g Office, the Clearinghouse 

was transferred to th e Commission under the 1974 

amendmen ts to the Act. The Cl earinghouse ga the rs 

and disseminates informa tion through published research studies, regional se m ina rs and State wo rksho ps. As cen tral information office, the Clearinghouse received 3,882 phone and ma il inq ui ries in 

1984. Over the past len years, it has published reports on s uc h topics as Sta te campa ig n fina nce 

laws, voting reg istra tion syste ms , bilin gua l election 

serv ice s and voting machine techno logy . 

To make s u re that it responds to the needs of 

its constituents, the Clearin g house has organized 

a n Adviso ry Panel composed o f 17 Sta te and local 

el~c ion of~i cial Panel membe rs mee t period icall y 

with Clearinghouse sta ff to discuss current issues in 

their field and to recommend possible Cl earing ­

house proj ec ts and stud ies. 

The Connnissioner« 

Th e six Commissioners-three Democra ts and 

th ree Repub lica ns'j-e-are appointed by the President 

12Undc r the election law, no more than three Commissioners G ill be 

"Hdi" lcd wn h lhe sa me pohtrca l part y. 

and confirmed by the Senate . Two ex officio Commissioners, the Secretarv of the Sena te and the 

Clerk of the Ho use of Represen ta tives, are nonvo ting members. They appoint special d eputies to re present them at the Commission. 

Th e six voting Commissioners se rv e full time 

and are responsible for ov e rs eeina.a d rnin istra tio n of 

th e Fed eral Electio n Campaign Ad.'They genera lly 

meet twice a week, once in closed sessio n to discu ss ma tters th at, by law , mu st remain co nfidentia l, 

and once in a meeting open to th e public. At these 

meetings, th ey formula te policy and vote o n sign ificant legal and administrative matte rs. 

TIle Statutory Officers 

The law provides for two sta tu tory officers, a 

Staff Dir ector and a General Counsel. The Staff Direct or ca rr ies the respo nsibilities of appointing staff, 

with th e approval o f the Commission , a nd implementing Commiss ion policy . The Staff Director 

oversees the Commission's public disclo sure ac tivitie s, ou trea ch efforts, rev iew of reports and the audit pr ogram, as well as the ad m inis tra tio n o f the 

agency . 

The General Cou nsel direc ts the agency's enforc ement ac tivities and repres ents and ad vises the 

Commission in any legal ac tions brough t agai nst it. 

The Office of Genera l Counse l handles a ll civil litiga tion, incl uding severa l cases w hich ha ve come befor e the Supreme Court. The Office is als o responsible for drafti ng, for Commission consideration, 

regu la tions and adv isory opinions, as well as other 

legal memoranda interpreting th e Act. 

II 
APPE DIX 

Presidential Spending Limits as Increased by 

Cost-oJ-Living Adjustl1/ents 

Unadjusted 

Limit 1976 1980 1984 ----

CO LA" 9. 10/0 47.2% 102 % 

Prima ry Election Lim it.... $10 million $10.9 million $14 .7 mi llio n $20.2 m illion 

Ge neral Election Lim it $20 million $21.8 mil lio n $29.4 million $40.4 million 

Pa rty Convention Limit 

1976 $2 million $2.2 million 

1980 $3 milli on $4.4 million 

1984 $4 m illion $8.1 million 

Pa rty Limit for 

Presidential Nominee"?' 

2 cents x 

u.s. voti ng 

p o pulation ( AP) 

$3.2 milli on (VA P = 

146.8 m illion ) 

$4.6 milli on (VAP = 

157.5 m illion) 

$6.9 million 

(VA P == 

171.'1 million) 

'COLA mean s the cost -of-living ad ju stment, wluch the Departme nt o( Labo r iln nuillly ,..rtcu l.u es using 197.j as Ilw 

base year. 

" I'rimMy cand id ates receiving miltehin!; [und s mus t comply with tW,' type» ui spend ing limits. A nat ion al hmit 

(listed in till' above table ) .111<1 <l separa te limit (or each 5t.,I.,. The Sta le limit IS S:WO.lJOO or 16 cents multiplied IJ,' the 

Sta le's voti ng age population. whic heve r is grea ter. (Both amo unts oHC adjusted for increases III Ihe cost ,11 livin!;.) 

The maximum amo un t 01 primary match ing funds a cand idate Ill.,y receive is h.l11 ,I' till' nal i,)nal spend anb limit. 

' ''Limit applies to expe ndi tu res mad e by the nation al Cll 1l 11l 11 'C o( a poliucn] party o n be ha lf " I us nom ine" in the 

gene ral election, regardless of whe ther the nonun ee receives pu blic fun ding. The expenditures arc sometime Ci1 I1e'd 

" coord ina ted pari)' expe nd itures" o r "·141.1(d ) exp ' ndilures." They are not conside red contributions an d do not 

cou nt ,' ga;nsl a publicly funde d cand ida te's expe nd iture limit. 

Contribution Limits 

To Na tion al To Any Other Total 

To Ca ndi date Part y Com mittee Con tributions 

Contribut ion Limi ts Pe r Election Per Year Per Year Pe r Year 

Individ ua l $1,000 $20,000 $5,000 $25,000 

Political Committee $1,000 $20,000 $5,000 No Limi t 

Mu lticandidate 

Committee" $5,000 515,000 55,000 No Limit 

'A multica nd idate com mittee is ,1 ny com mit tee wit h more Ihan 50 contri butors whic h 1101 5 been registered [or at 1",1St 

six months and. WIth the exce ption of Stale part y cornrnluecs. has made con n ibutiuns 10 live or more Federa l 

ca ndidates, 

12 
COMMISSIONERS AND OFFICERS 1975-1985 

C('I J1111 j~::.i( JIlt'1"., 

Joan D. Aikens April 1975-Apri11989 (rea ppo inted May 1976, Decembe r 1981 and 

August 1983). 

Thom as B. Curtis ApriI1975-l\.1ay 1976. 

Thomas E. Harris April 1975-Ap ril 1985 (reappointed Jun e 1979). 

Nei l O. Staebler April 1975-September 1978. 

Vernon W. Thomson April 1975--]une- 1979; January 1981-Dt"cembe r 1981. 

Robert O. Tie rnan April 1975-November 1981. 

Will iam L. Springer May 1976-January 1979. 

John Warren McGar ry October 1978---April 1989 (rea ppointed jut y 1983). 

Max L. Friedersd orf Ma rch 1979-December 1980. 

Frank P. Reiche July 1979-April 1985. 

l ee An n Elliott Decembe r 1981-April 1987. 

Da nny L. McDonald December 1981-April 1987. 

Clerk of th e House 

W. Pat Jennings April 1975-Novem ber J975. 

Ed mund L. Hen sh aw, Jr. December 1975-January 1983. 

Benjamin J. Guthrie January 198:>-. 

Sec'!.tnry of the Senate 

Francis R. Valeo April 1975-March 1977. 

Joseph Stanley Kim mitt April 1977-Ja nlla ry 1981. 

Will iam F. Hildenbrand Jan ua ry 1981 -January 1985. 

Jo-Anne L. Coe January 1985-. 

5101 II lory Ulrica, 

Stalf Director 

Orla ndo B. Potter May 1975- July 1980. 

B. Allen Clutter, III September 1980-May 1983. 

John C. Su rina July 1983---. 

General Counsel - - John G. Murph y, Jr. May 1975- December 1976. 

WilJiam C. Ol daker February 1977-0ctober 1979. 

Cha rles N. Steele December 1979- .