FEC independent expenditure help: coordinated

… <div class="rich-text"><h3 data-block-key="bfmyg">Items not requiring disclaimer</h3><p data-block-key="hn7ne">A disclaimer is not required:</p><ul><li data-block-key="1v8l9">On small items where a disclaimer cannot be conveniently printed (for example, on pens, bumper stickers, campaign pins, campaign buttons and similar small items);</li><li data-block-key="amtdd">When its display is not practicable (for example, on wearing apparel, on water towers and in skywriting); or</li><li data-block-key="fh4pt">When the item is of minimal value, does not contain a political message and is used for administrative purposes (for example, on checks and receipts).</li></ul></div> </div> </div> </section> </div> <div class="block-sections"> <section id="coordination-defined" class="option"> <h2>Coordination defined</h2> <div class="row"> <div class="block-text"> <div class="rich-text"><p data-block-key="olgao">Coordinated means made in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate’s authorized committee or their <span class="term" data-term="Agent (of a candidate)">agents</span>, or a political party committee or its <span class="term" data-term="Agent (of a party)">agents</span>.</p><h3 data-block-key="0yxy5">Determining coordination</h3><p data-block-key="3oox2">FEC regulations provide for a three-pronged test to determine whether a communication is coordinated. Under these regulations, a communication is considered to be a coordinated communication (and, as a result, counts against contribution limits) if it satisfies a three-prong test.</p><p data-block-key="ethay">The three prongs of the test consider:</p><ol><li data-block-key="70y8p">The source of payment (payment prong);</li><li data-block-key="pcpk8">The subject matter of the communication (content prong); and</li><li data-block-key="xmj9x">The interaction between the person paying for the communication and the candidate or political party committee (conduct prong).</li></ol><h3 data-block-key="dipw4">Payment prong</h3><p data-block-key="5l8y7">A coordinated communication is paid for, in whole or in part, by a person other than the candidate, an authorized committee or a political party committee with whom the communication is coordinated.</p><h3 data-block-key="kqq62">Content prong</h3><p data-block-key="91m2r">A communication that meets any one of these four standards meets the content prong:</p><ol><li data-block-key="063sn">A communication that is an <span class="term" data-term="Electioneering communication">electioneering communication</span>;</li><li data-block-key="xora7">A <span class="term" data-term="Public communication">public communication</span> that republishes, disseminates or distributes candidate campaign materials, unless the activity meets one of the exceptions listed in the regulations at 11 CFR <a href="https://www.fec.gov/regulations/109-23/CURRENT#109-23-b">109.23(b)</a>;</li><li data-block-key="s2ukq">A public communication that <span class="term" data-term="Express advocacy">expressly advocates</span> the election or defeat of a <span class="term" data-term="Clearly identified candidate">clearly identified candidate</span> for federal office; or</li><li data-block-key="7xw9l">A public communication that:</li></ol><ul><li data-block-key="49e04">Refers to a clearly identified House or Senate candidate and is publicly distributed in the identified candidate’s jurisdiction within 90 days of the candidate’s election;</li><li data-block-key="02wi7">Refers to a clearly identified presidential candidate and is publicly distributed during the period starting 120 days before the primary election and ending on the date of the general election;</li><li data-block-key="voixe">Refers to a political party in a midterm election cycle, is coordinated with a party committee and is publicly distributed within 90 days of a primary or general election in a jurisdiction in which one or more candidates of that political party will appear on the ballot;</li><li data-block-key="fizp5">Refers to a political party in a presidential election cycle, is coordinated with a party committee and is publicly distributed during the period starting 120 days before the primary and ending on the date of the general election;</li><li data-block-key="t0i9s">Refers to a political party, is coordinated with a House or Senate candidate and is publicly distributed in that candidate’s jurisdiction within 90 days of the primary or general election; or</li><li data-block-key="wmfvj">Refers to a political party, is coordinated with a presidential candidate and is publicly distributed during the period starting 120 days before the primary until the date of the general election.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key="l2rr7">Conduct prong</h3><p data-block-key="ldt78">Should the content and payment prongs of the test be satisfied, there still must be some interaction between the SSF individual, group, corporation, labor organization, or political committee paying for the communication and the campaign committee for there to be coordination. The conduct prong identifies the possible types of interactions. A communication that satisfies any one of the conduct standards satisfies the conduct prong.</p><h4 data-block-key="qg1c8">Request or suggestion</h4><p data-block-key="iseoz">This conduct standard has two parts, and satisfying either satisfies the standard. The first part is satisfied if the entity creating, producing or distributing the communication does so at the request or suggestion of a candidate, authorized committee, political party committee, or <span class="term" data-term="Agent (of a candidate)">agent</span> of any of these. A communication satisfies the second part of the “request or suggestion” conduct standard if the entity paying for the communication suggests the creation, production, or distribution of the communication to the candidate, authorized committee, political party committee, or agent of any of these, and the candidate or political party committee assents to the suggestion.</p><h4 data-block-key="0bck0">Material involvement</h4><p data-block-key="yvw0w">This conduct standard is satisfied if a candidate, candidate committee, political party committee, or an <span class="term" data-term="Agent (of a candidate)">agent</span> of any of these was “materially involved in decisions” regarding any of the following aspects of a public communication paid for by someone else:</p><ul><li data-block-key="9lxbq">Content of the communication;</li><li data-block-key="frbtc">Intended audience;</li><li data-block-key="y1f4n">Means or mode of the communication;</li><li data-block-key="vj7wu">Specific media outlet used;</li><li data-block-key="uenl4">Timing or frequency of the communication; or</li><li data-block-key="39wyq">Size or prominence of a printed communication or duration of a communication by means of broadcast, cable or satellite.</li></ul><h4 data-block-key="l8bng">Substantial discussion</h4><p data-block-key="sztkl">A communication meets this conduct standard if it is created, produced or distributed after one or more substantial discussions between the entity paying for the communication, or the person’s agents, and the candidate clearly identified in the communication or that candidate’s committee, that candidate’s opponent or opponent’s committee, a political party committee, or an <span class="term" data-term="Agent (of a party)">agent</span> of these. A discussion would be “substantial” if information about the plans, projects, activities or needs of the candidate or political party committee that is material to the creation, production or distribution of the communication is conveyed to the person paying for the communication.</p><h4 data-block-key="512qi">Employment of common vendor</h4><p data-block-key="s39x0">The conduct standard provides that the use of a common vendor in the creation, production or distribution of a communication satisfies the conduct standard if:</p><ul><li data-block-key="zpl0x">The person paying for the communication contracts with, or employs, a “<span class="term" data-term="Commercial vendor">commercial vendor</span>” to create, produce or distribute the communication; and</li><li data-block-key="ij4pq">The commercial vendor, including any officer, owner or employee of the vendor, has a previous or current relationship with the candidate or political party committee that puts the commercial vendor in a position to acquire information about the campaign plans, projects, activities or needs of the candidate or political party committee. This previous relationship is defined in terms of nine specific services related to campaigning and campaign communications. These services would have to have been rendered within 120 days before the purchase or public distribution of the communication; and</li><li data-block-key="0oxrl">The commercial vendor uses or conveys information about the campaign plans, projects, activities or needs of the candidate or political party committee, or information previously used by the commercial vendor in serving the candidate or political party committee, to the person paying for the communication, and that information is material to the creation, production or distribution of the communication. Refer to “Safe harbor for publicly available information&quot; and “Safe harbor for use of a firewall.”</li></ul><h4 data-block-key="t59ao">Former employee/independent contractor</h4><p data-block-key="tginh">This conduct standard applies to communications paid for by a person, or the employer of a person, who has previously been an employee or an independent contractor of a candidate’s campaign committee or a political party committee during the 120 days before the purchase or public distribution of the communication.</p><p data-block-key="110sl">This standard requires that the former employee or contractor use or convey information about the plans, projects, activities or needs of the candidate, the candidate’s opponent or political party committee, or information used by the former employee or contractor in serving the candidate, candidate’s opponent or political party committee, to the person paying for the communication, and that the information is material to the creation, production or distribution of the communication. See “Safe harbor for publicly available information&quot; and “Safe harbor for use of a firewall.”</p><h4 data-block-key="keojk">Dissemination, distribution or republication of campaign material</h4><p data-block-key="8lg60">A communication that republishes, disseminates or distributes campaign material can only satisfy the first three conduct standards on the basis of the candidate’s conduct—or that of his or her committee or agents—that occurs after the original preparation of the campaign materials that are disseminated, distributed or republished.</p><h3 data-block-key="dmvqf">Agreement or formal collaboration</h3><p data-block-key="krjtc">Neither agreement (defined as a mutual understanding on any part of the material aspect of the communication or its dissemination) nor formal collaboration (defined as planned or systematically organized work) is necessary for a communication to be a coordinated communication.</p><h3 data-block-key="fvc1q">Safe harbor provisions to the conduct prong</h3><h4 data-block-key="zz90u">Safe harbor for responses to inquiries about legislative or policy issues</h4><p data-block-key="iqmy5">A candidate’s or political party committee’s response to an inquiry about that candidate’s or party’s positions on legislative or policy issues, which does not include discussion of campaign plans, projects, activities or needs, will not satisfy any of the conduct standards.</p><h4 data-block-key="eiymd">Safe harbor for publicly available information</h4><p data-block-key="odltl">The standards for substantial discussion, material involvement, use of a common vendor and involvement of a former employee/independent contractor are not satisfied if the information used in creating or distributing the communication was obtained from a publicly available source. Publicly available sources include, but are not limited to:</p><ul><li data-block-key="16gbj">Newspaper or magazine articles;</li><li data-block-key="kbsv0">Candidate speeches or interviews;</li><li data-block-key="5ar2f">Transcripts from television shows;</li><li data-block-key="8fryn">Press releases;</li><li data-block-key="np067">A candidate or political party’s website; and</li><li data-block-key="s71yb">Any publicly available website.</li></ul><h4 data-block-key="lovy0">Safe harbor for use of a firewall</h4><p data-block-key="hf9yb">None of the conduct standards is satisfied if the vendor, political committee, former employee, or independent contractor implements a firewall. The firewall must prohibit the flow of information between employees or consultants providing service to the person paying for the communication and those employees or consultants providing services to a political party committee or to the candidate who is clearly identified in the communication, or that candidate’s authorized committee, or to the authorized committee of the candidate opposing the candidate clearly identified in the communication. The firewall must be described in a written policy statement that is distributed to all employees, consultants and clients affected by the policy.</p></div> …