Under the “Millionaires’ Amendment” (Appendix F), House and Senate candidates must declare on their Form 2 the amount by which they expect
to exceed the applicable threshold amount of expenditures from personal funds, which might trigger increased contribution and coordinated
party expenditure limits for their opponent.
Senate candidates file their original Form 2 with the Secretary of the Senate, and
fax or e-mail copies to the FEC and each opposing candidate via fax or e-mail. House candidates file their
Form 2 with the FEC and fax or e-mail copies to each opposing candidate.
Candidates running in states that have not qualified for a waiver of the state filing requirement must file a copy of their
Form 2 with
the Secretary of State (or equivalent state officer).
Principal Campaign Committee
Within 10 days after it has been designated by the candidate, the principal campaign committee must register by filing a Statement of
Organization (FEC Form 1). The committee files the registration form with the
Secretary of the Senate or the Federal Election Commission, as appropriate. A copy must also be filed with the Secretary of State (or
equivalent state officer) in the state in which the candidate is running for office if the Commission has not waived the state’s
obligation to maintain copies of FEC statements and
reports.2 2 U.S.C. §439(a).
Electronic Filing
Under FEC regulations, the Statement of Organization (FEC Form 1) and Statement of
Candidacy (Form 2) must be filed electronically if the
campaign raises or spends more than $50,000 in any calendar year, or has reason to expect to do so.
Electronic filers must also include their e-mail address on their Statement of Organization.
Candidates Must Register for Each Election Cycle
Candidate
A candidate (including an incumbent) must file a new FEC Form 2 for each election
cycle in which he or she is a candidate. For example, Mr. Jones, who was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004, wishes
to run again in 2006. He must file a new FEC Form 2 within 15 days after crossing
the $5,000 registration threshold (see Section 1) for the 2006 election cycle.
Principal Campaign Committee
Using FEC Form 2, the candidate may either redesignate his previous campaign
committee (if it has not terminated) or designate a new principal campaign committee.
If the candidate redesignates an existing committee, the committee need only amend its Statement of Organization
(FEC Form 1) within 10 days to reflect any new information (e.g., a change in the
committee’s name or address). The redesignated committee will retain its original FEC identification number. Redesignated committees are
reminded that, if outstanding debts remain from the previous election, the committee must continue to report the debts as well as the
contributions that have been designated by contributors to retire them.
If the candidate designates a new principal campaign committee, the committee must file a new Statement of Organization
(FEC Form 1) within 10 days after being designated. The newly designated
committee will receive a new FEC identification number.
Other Authorized Committees
In addition to the principal campaign committee, the candidate may designate other authorized committees to receive contributions or
make expenditures on his or her behalf. The following steps must be taken:
Action by Candidate
The candidate designates the authorized committee by filing a statement (either FEC Form
2 or a letter3) with the principal campaign committee.
Action by Authorized Committee
Within 10 days after being designated by the candidate, the authorized committee must file a registration statement
(FEC Form 1) with the candidate’s principal campaign committee.
Action by Principal Campaign Committee
The principal campaign committee, in turn, files the documents with the appropriate federal and state offices, as explained above.
1
A candidate may not designate, as the principal campaign committee or other authorized committee (except as a joint fundraising
committee — see Appendix C), a committee that supports more than one candidate (e.g., a party committee or a political action committee).
A committee may incorporate for liability purposes only without becoming a corporation that is itself prohibited from making contributions
or expenditures.
2
A list of state filing offices is available from the FEC. At the date of publication of this Guide, Montana, Puerto Rico and Guam are
the only states that have not received waivers.
3
A candidate whose committee files electronically cannot designate an authorized committee by letter. FEC regulations require that the
designation must be made electronically on Form 2.
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