Comment: Be sure to register your group with the FEC!

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Kathleen Gee's picture

Be sure to register your group with the FEC!

When a group is formed to raise money for delegates, you have 10 days to register with the Federal Election Commission after raising $1,000 in a calendar year.

The following is from "FEC Rules for National Convention Delegates," available here: http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/delegate.shtml

May Delegates Join Together to Raise and Spend Funds?
Yes. Under FEC regulations, they would be acting as a delegate committee. A delegate committee is a group that raises or spends funds to influence the selection of one or more delegates. A delegate committee may be a group of delegates or a group that supports delegates.

Do Delegate Committees Have to File FEC Reports?
Possibly. A delegate committee becomes a "political committee" under federal law once it receives contributions or makes expenditures exceeding $1,000 in a calendar year. At that point, the committee must register with the FEC within 10 days and begin filing periodic FEC reports to disclose its receipts and disbursements. All pre-registration activity must be disclosed in the first report. Note that a delegate committee that has triggered status as a federal political committee must include the word "delegate" or "delegates" in its name. It may also include the name of the Presidential candidate it supports.

You are also bound by all the FEC regulations about prohibited donations. I didn't notice any disclaimers on your site, which increases the likelihood that you'll get illegal campaign contributions, and give our enemies a reason to challenge you at the Convention (not to mention get yourself fined or thrown in prison.)

Who is Prohibited From Contributing to a Delegate?
Individual delegates may not accept any contributions from sources prohibited from making contributions in connection with federal elections. These sources include:

• Corporations (including banks and nonprofit corporations);
• Labor organizations;
• Foreign nationals or businesses (except "green card" holders--those admitted to the United States for permanent residence); and
• Federal government contractors (such as partnerships and sole proprietors with federal contracts).

"Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid." - Ronald Reagan

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