An election year brings ample opportunities for corporations to participate in the political process, and the current political environment can create enormous pressures to do so. But with these opportunities and pressures come legal risks and compliance burdens. Given the differing and complex rules across jurisdictions, companies should be aware
Continue Reading The 6 Top Compliance Mistakes by Corporations in an Election YearFEC
Corporate and Industry “Mega PACs”: The Next Frontier for Super PACs
By Derek Lawlor, Andrew Garrahan & Kimberly Railey on
Posted in Campaign Finance
Since the landmark Citizens United decision in 2010, super PACs have become a fixture of U.S. political campaigns. But despite the initial anticipated boom in corporate influence in elections, most super PAC funding to date has come from wealthy individuals, closely-held corporations, and nonprofits, not from large for-profit corporations.
However…
Continue Reading Corporate and Industry “Mega PACs”: The Next Frontier for Super PACsForming and Operating Super PACs: A Practical Guide for Political Consultants in 2026
By Derek Lawlor, Andrew Garrahan & Kimberly Railey on
Posted in Campaign Finance
In the 2024 election cycle, super PACs spent a reported $2.7 billion at the federal level, up from roughly $1.4 billion in 2022. And in 2025, super PACs poured tens of millions into state and local races, including the New Jersey gubernatorial race and the New York City mayoral…
Continue Reading Forming and Operating Super PACs: A Practical Guide for Political Consultants in 2026Though Unsuccessful, Challenge to Trump Executive Order Yields Potentially Noteworthy Representations Regarding FEC Independence
By Perrin Cooke on
Posted in Campaign Finance
As we highlighted in a prior post, in February, President Trump signed an executive order that expanded the President’s authority over independent agencies within the executive branch that could have important effects on future rulemakings and advisory opinions from the Federal Election Commission (FEC or “Commission”). In particular, we…
Continue Reading Though Unsuccessful, Challenge to Trump Executive Order Yields Potentially Noteworthy Representations Regarding FEC IndependenceNew Executive Order Gives President Veto Power Over Some FEC Rulemaking
By Perrin Cooke on
Posted in Campaign Finance
In the latest in a series of executive actions that aim to reshape much of government, President Trump signed an executive order on February 18 expanding the President’s authority over so-called independent agencies within the executive branch. The impact of this executive order will be felt across the federal government…
Continue Reading New Executive Order Gives President Veto Power Over Some FEC RulemakingFEC Raises Contribution Limits for 2025-2026
By Derek Lawlor & Kimberly Railey on
Posted in Campaign Finance
The Federal Election Commission has announced contribution limits for 2025-2026. The new “per election” limits are effective for the 2025-2026 election cycle (November 6, 2024 – November 3, 2026), and the calendar year limits are effective January 1, 2025.
The FEC increased the amount an individual can contribute to a…
New House Ethics Committee Memorandum Clarifies Rules on Personal Use of Covered Campaign Funds
By Robert Lenhard, Matthew Shapanka & Stephanie King on
Posted in Campaign Finance, Government Ethics
The House Ethics Committee concluded 2024 by releasing a memorandum updating its guidance for Members’ personal use of political campaign funds (“updated guidance”). While the Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”) and Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) regulations prohibit the personal use of campaign funds, House Rule 26.6(b) imposes additional restrictions on…
Continue Reading New House Ethics Committee Memorandum Clarifies Rules on Personal Use of Covered Campaign FundsFEC Year in Review 2024
With a game-changing advisory opinion (AO 2024-01), 2024 started out with a bang at the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”). Other consequential opinions, enforcement actions, and regulations continued in the following months, challenging the notion that the divided Commission cannot find consensus.
In this alert, we highlight the FEC’s major…
Continue Reading FEC Year in Review 2024As States Lead Efforts to Address Deepfakes in Political Ads, Federal Lawmakers Seek Nationwide Policies
By Matthew Shapanka & Samuel Klein on
Posted in Political Law
A New Orleans magician recently made headlines for using artificial intelligence (AI) to emulate President Biden’s voice without his consent in a misleading robocall to New Hampshire voters. This was not a magic trick, but rather a demonstration of the risks AI-generated “deepfakes” pose to election integrity. As rapidly evolving…
Continue Reading As States Lead Efforts to Address Deepfakes in Political Ads, Federal Lawmakers Seek Nationwide PoliciesFEC Seeks Comment on AI Petition After Earlier Deadlock, But New Rules Remain Elusive
By Matthew Shapanka on
Posted in Campaign Finance
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) officially dipped its toes into the ongoing national debate around artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, publishing a Federal Register notice seeking comment on a petition submitted by Public Citizen to initiate a rulemaking to clarify that the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) prohibits deceptive AI-generated campaign…
Continue Reading FEC Seeks Comment on AI Petition After Earlier Deadlock, But New Rules Remain Elusive