Republican Party of Orange County 

November 22,2013 

Mr. Robert Morcomb 

Federal Election Commission 

Audit Division 

Office of Compliance 

Dear Mr Morcomb: 

This letter is in response to the "Interim Audit Report of the Audit Division on the 

Republican Party of Orange County (Federal)" for the period of January 1,2009 through 

December 31,2010. 

Below are the actions the Republican Party of Orange County ("RPOC') has taken with 

respect to each of the findings of the audit division. 

Finding#! 

RPOC has amended the reports for 2009 to address the items from the worksheet of the 

audit. Many of the items that we corrected were transfers between accounts and items 

that originally cancelled out each odier. RPOC has tighteired up their bank 

reconciliation process and will review reports to insure that items between accounts 

even if they cancel each other are being reflected on reports. 

Finding #2 

RPOC has tightened procedures for reporting accounts payable. Staff and board 

members have been informed that all obligations of the committee need to be reported 

to the treasurer at the time they are incurred. We have amended reports for 2008 and 

2009 to include the debt and obUgations for die vendors provided by the audit report. 

Finding #3 

For all future payroll, RPOC will maintain monthly payroll logs and document the 

percentage of time each employee spent on federal and non-federal election activity. 

RPOC will document the amount of hours spent on federal and non-federal election 

activity on a semi-montlily basis in a Microsoft excel spreadsheet log. This log will be 

used to determine the allocations of salaries, wages, and fringe benefits for all 

employees. 

Finding #4 

RPOC (also referred to as "Committee") has added the $73465 amount of Levin funds in 

dispute as an accrued expense on Schedule D of the debts and obligations list on its 

monthly FEC 3X report for the month of October 2013 in an effort to respond in good 

faith to the proposed finding in the Commission Audit Division's Draft Audit Report. 

1422 EDINGER, SUITE 110, TUSTIN, CA 92780 
Federal Election Conunission 

November 22,2013 

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However, the Committee contends that the Commission shoidd not accept Finding No. 

4 and instead should not penalize the Committee. The RPOC is the Republican county 

central committee for the Republican Party in Orange County. The RPOC is a vendor to 

the California Republican Party (also referred to as "CRP") and its agent in conducting 

voter registration activities in Orange County. The RPOC has operated under the 

California Republican Part/s "Operation Bounty" agreement by which RPOC obtains 

and is compensated by the California Republican Party on the basis of valid Republican 

voter registrations it obtains and which the California Republican Party verifies as valid 

voter registrations. This activity is conducted throughout each election cycle. For the 

2010-2011 election cycle, this included registrations obtained outside die "FEAII period" 

as well as registrations obtained during the "FEA 11 period." 

The RPOC received consideration in the form of payment per valid registration to defray 

its costs incurred in obtaining, processing, verifying and submitting the voter 

registrations to CRP through the "Operation Bounty" program. The "Operation Bounty" 

program is a bona fide party building program, which engages Republican volunteer 

groups and individual Republican activists in voter outreach, voter communication and 

spreading the Republican identification and brand in the community, including among a 

substantial number of new citizens, legal immigrants and ethnic minority groups with 

whom the Republican Party would like to extend and improve relations. Were the 

California Republican Party not to be able to utilize the RPOC as its agent and vendor, it 

would have to seek alternative (mostly commercial vendors odier than local or district 

party committees), none of which offer the collateral party building benefits that the 

RPOC-California Republican Party relationship promotes. 

Without the Operation Bounty reimbursement, the RPOC would be less likely and able 

to conduct effective voter registrations using the volunteer resources of Republican 

volunteer organizations, groups and activists. This would lessen the RPOCs ability to 

foster party building activities, as much as it would lessen the effectiveness of voter 

registration targeted at potential Republican voters among the aforementioned new 

citizens, legal immigrants and ethnic minority groups in Orange County. 

For a period of time in 2011, the CRP was advised by the FECs RAD unit that it would 

be required to pay for voter registrations submitted by RPOC under the "Operation 

Bounty" program with two checks, one from its federal account and one from its Levin 

account, pursuant to 11 CFR §102.6 and 11 CFR §300.33 for voter registrations obtained 

during the "FEA period." The Audit Report confirms that the CRP was within the 

statute and the regulations in doing so, but concludes that RPOC was unable to use 

those funds under the "home grown" requirement of 2 USCA § 441i(b)(2)(iv)(l) as 

"funds provided" by "any other State, local or district committee of any State party." 

See also, 11 CFR §300.31(a) ["General Rule. Levin funds expended or disbursed by any 
Federal Election Commission 

November 22,2013 

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State, local or district committee must be raised solely by the committee that expends or 

disburses them."] 

The committee contests whether the finding should be approved by the Commissioners 

on both statutory and constitutional grounds. The Committee notes that committee is 

not prohibited from using non-federal furuis transferred by a State, local or district 

committee of a political party to reimburse the Committee's federal account for a portion 

of expenses for voter registration conducted outside the Type IIFEA period as set forth 

in Commission regulation 11 CFR §300.32 (b)(l)(i), nor is a State, local or district 

committee of a political party prohibited from paying vendors other than another State, 

local or district committee of a political party using Levin funds for voter registration 

activity during the Type II FEA period under 11 CFR §300.32 (b)(l)(i). 

The Commission should allow the RPOC to accept and use Levin funds obtained in 

reimbursement under the "Operation Bounty" contract between the RPOC and the 

California Republican Party as a matter of contract and agency law. Alternatively, the 

Commission should not enforce 2 USCA §441i(b)(2)(iv)(I) against the RPOC because 

such enforcement would violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth 

Amendment to the United States Constitution by discriminating against a political party 

and its members for engaging in voter registration political activity using Levin funds 

received in connection with its contract with the California Republican Party that is not 

applied to other vendors that contract to engage in voter registration activity that is 

payable with Levin funds, without constitutional justification. 

Thank you for your consideration regarding the foregoing issues. Please do not hesitate 

to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you. 

Sincerely, 

Mark Bucher 

Treasurer