Professional Campaign Compliance: The best money spent in politics
Did you know the FBI has a unit dedicated to investigating election crimes? So does the Attorney General — both federally and in your state. Your local District Attorney likely does too.
Then there’s the enforcement agencies specifically for campaign finance. The Federal Elections Commission is the most well known — but states and cities all over the country have them too. Ethics Commission. Elections Commission. Campaign Finance Commission. Whatever they are named, they have one job: to find campaign violations and enforce penalties for them.
And all their laws are different.
And you have to file with different offices.
And sometimes even use paper and fax machines!?!
At Evinco Strategies, we work with political organizations and campaigns all over the country, and we have seen firsthand how confusing it can be to stay on the right side of the law even with the best of intentions. That’s why we require all our clients to contract with a political compliance professional/firm.
Whether you’re going to work with us or not, paying a political compliance professional is the best money you will ever spend. As a matter of fact, I would rather you pay them than us. Here’s why:
1. It’s all public.
Turning down the scary criminal investigators element, let’s say your worst case scenario is a simple mistake that just so happens to be thoroughly and publicly documented.
You forget to file a receipt maybe? Your public report is incomplete. At first no one notices, but then you send out a mailer that wasn’t on the report. Well, to an opponent or a reporter with a public integrity bent, it may look like you’re hiding expenses. Why are you hiding expenses? What are you up to, you shady creature you?! You don’t deserve the trust of the public while manipulating laws like that!
I’m sure you can handle the rest of that spiral yourself. But it’s not pretty. And it’s preventable.
2. It’s a lot more than just accounting.
I know you think your cousin who is an accountant or a tax professional can do it for free and you’ll be fine. And, maybe you’re technically right — but do you really want your cousin cutting their teeth on a brand new profession while laying your reputation on the line as collateral?
There are rules for when and how much money you can raise and from whom and how it has to be reported. There are rules for when and how much money you can spend and on what and how it has to be disclosed. There are deadlines out the ass and all materials and transactions are subject to audit for a minimum of 5 years.
In Virginia, the elections code is 74 pages — and that doesn’t include supplementary material. In Georgia, the candidate qualifying handbook is 220 pages. In California, the FPPC manual is over 2,000 pages. It’s so long they had to split it into 8 different pieces to make it make sense.
No offense to your cousin, but unless they are experienced in political accounting and political compliance, they should just write you a check or knock some doors like everyone else.
3. It’s different everywhere.
Sometimes your organization can parachute into another state and spend all the money you want. Sometimes you have to start a separate committee in that specific state before you’re allowed to breathe. Sometimes there’s a cap on contributions. Sometimes limits are just from certain sources. Sometimes you can take money from PACs or businesses. Sometimes only from individuals, and sometimes a certain percentage of those individuals need to live in a certain place. Sometimes you can raise money for years and years without actually running. Sometimes you can’t start raising money until less than a year from the election. Sometimes your disclaimer has to be in a box, sometimes no box but 12-point font, sometimes it’s all about the percentage of the image that the language takes up.
And because the law for the exact same geographic location can change depending on which office you’re running for or what type of organization you’re leading you can’t even necessarily lean on political mentors for help. Because if their experience was subject to a different jurisdiction they’re going to be wrong.
4. It changes all the time
The people who enforce political laws are not stupid. They know what this industry is, how corrupt it can be, and how creative people in power are to get away with things they should not be doing.
As such, campaign laws are consistently updated and evolving to strengthen public integrity and keep up with the shady folks.
This can range from how much money you can accept to what content you can publish on your website to who you can contact and how. Things that were normal when I started my career are illegal now, and I would probably give some shitty advice if it weren’t for my compliance peers who are paid to keep up with that saying, “no ma’am, not today.”
5. It snowballs
Violations of the law can layer on top of each other depending on how much you’re fucking up. Google Eric Adams. It all started on the campaign trail.
6. It’s your first big judgment call
Honestly, if you don’t have the judgment to mitigate all the risks I’ve addressed here and hire a compliance professional as the single most important member of your campaign team — you probably shouldn’t be running for office or leading a political organization.
However, if you already have a compliance pro, or you’re willing to hire one and are wondering what the next steps are for you and the election cycle, book a FREE call today. We’re happy to help!