Aimee Steel is Director of Media and Political Affairs in the Washington D.C. office
Many members of the House and Senate already have announced
their plans to retire after their current term is over. The
expectation is that the list will grow before November's
election. However, there are a handful of senators and
representatives who have decided to resign from their seats before
the next election, prompting a special election to fill the
vacancies.
Special reporting requirements for Political Action Committees
("PACs") take effect when a special election is scheduled
to fill a vacant seat. These reporting requirements mainly impact
PACs that file with the Federal Election Commission
("FEC") on a quarterly basis, although many PACs do and have
transitioned to a monthly filing schedule during this election
year. In
December, this blog discussed the advantages of transitioning
from quarterly to monthly filing during election years.
If a PAC files reports monthly and participates in a special
election, that activity will be captured quickly in the next
reporting period. But if a PAC files quarterly and engages in a
special election, it is possible that the PAC could miss a special
reporting deadline.
The current list of special elections and their dates include:
Florida 13th Congressional District
- Special Primary: January 14, 2014
- Special General: March 11, 2014
Florida 19th Congressional District
- Special Primary: April 22, 2014
- Special General: June 24, 2014
North Carolina 12th Congressional District
- Special Primary: May 6, 2014
- Special Runoff: July 15, 2014
- Special General: November 4, 2014
Oklahoma Senate
- Special Primary: June 24, 2014
- Special Runoff: August 26, 2014
- Special General: November 4, 2014
Please note that currently there are two special elections whose
dates have not yet been scheduled:
Montana Senate (seat vacated by Sen. Max
Baucus)
New Jersey 1st (seat vacated by Rep. Rob
Andrews)
It is important that PAC managers and treasurers pay particular
attention to these special election reporting dates, especially if
their PAC is a quarterly filer.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.