The Federal Election Commission last Thursday held a public hearing on a campaign finance case that illustrated the continued confusion associated with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that was co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin).

The case involves the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and their get-out-the-vote program. The county party is hoping to determine if it can use soft money to pay for direct mail pieces and automated calls, also known as robocalls, to registered Democrats in Long Beach, California, informing them of the party’s local candidates.

Here’s some insight into the confusion that BCRA causes (via Roll Call):

“Under BCRA, state and local parties cannot use soft money to finance GOTV efforts when federal candidates are on the ballot. But campaign finance experts say the definition of GOTV under the law is somewhat vague.

For the purposes of today’s FEC debate, TV and radio ads would not fall under BCRA’s GOTV restrictions because they are not personal communications. By contrast, driving people to the polls or going door-to-door for face-to-face contact is legally considered GOTV under BCRA.

But the rules for direct mail and robocalls are not as clear, experts say. That has sparked a heated debate about whether including the date, along with other local candidate information, in the automated calls and direct-mail pieces amounts to a GOTV drive.”

If the FEC rules against the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the ruling will have far-reaching effects on what state and local parties can do on behalf of their candidates.

According to Roll Call, the FEC general’s office, in a draft ruling, stated that robocalls and direct-mail pieces constitute federal regulated activities and should be financed through hard money.

If the draft ruling is adopted, the effect could be the federalization of virtually all campaign activities, including the state and local level, according to Don McGahn, counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

From US Libertarian Party

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom