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Coordinated Communications Periods for 2018

When a person pays for a communication that is coordinated with a candidate or party committee, the communication is considered an in-kind contribution to that candidate or party committee and is subject to the limits, prohibitions and reporting requirements of the federal campaign finance law. FEC regulations establish a three-prong test to determine whether a communication is coordinated. All three prongs of the test—payment, content and conduct—must be met for a communication to be deemed coordinated and thus an in-kind contribution. 11 CFR 109.21.

One provision identifies certain pre-election time frames during which a public communication that references a candidate will satisfy the content prong of the coordination test.

The charts below provide a state-by-state breakdown of the 90-day coordinated communications periods for Congressional primaries, general election and special elections.

NOTE: For communications that refer to both a party and a clearly identified federal candidate please consult the regulations at 11 CFR 109.21(c)(4)(i)-(iv).

 

Coordinated Communications Periods for Congressional Primaries ¹

State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
Alabama Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
Primary Runoff	07/17/18	04/18/18 - 07/17/18
Alaska Primary	08/21/18	05/23/18 - 08/21/18
American Samoa General	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
*Arizona Primary	08/28/18	05/30/18 - 08/28/18
Arkansas Primary	05/22/18	02/21/18 - 05/22/18
Primary Runoff	06/19/18	03/21/18 - 06/19/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
*California Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
Colorado Primary	06/26/18	03/28/18 - 06/26/18
*Connecticut Primary	08/14/18 2	05/16/18 - 08/14/18
Connecticut Democratic Party Conventions -- House	05/14/18 2	02/13/18 - 05/14/18
*Connecticut Democratic Party Conventions -- Senate	05/18/18 2	02/17/18 - 05/18/18
*Connecticut Republican Party Conventions -- House & Senate	05/11/18 2	02/10/18 - 05/11/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
*Delaware Primary	09/06/18	06/08/18 - 09/06/18
District of Columbia Primary	06/19/18	03/21/18 - 06/19/18
*Florida Primary	08/28/18	05/30/18 - 08/28/18
Georgia Primary	05/22/18	02/21/18 - 05/22/18
Primary Runoff	07/24/18	04/25/18 - 07/24/18
General Runoff	01/08/19	10/10/18 - 01/08/19
Guam Primary	08/25/18	05/27/18 - 08/25/18
General Runoff	11/20/18	08/22/18 - 11/20/18
*Hawaii Primary	08/11/18	05/13/18 - 08/11/18
Idaho Primary	05/15/18	02/14/18 - 05/15/18
Illinois Primary	03/20/18	12/20/17 - 03/20/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
*Indiana Primary	05/08/18 2	02/07/18 - 05/08/18
*Indiana Conventionn - Libertarian Party	05/05/18 2	02/04/18 - 05/05/18
Iowa Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
Kansas Primary	08/07/18 2	05/09/18 - 08/07/18
Kansas Convention - Libertarian Party	04/22/18 2	01/22/18 - 04/22/18
Kentucky Primary	05/22/18	02/21/18 - 05/22/18
Louisiana Primary	07/20/18 3	04/21/18 - 07/20/18
General	11/06/18 3	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
General Runoff	12/08/18 3	09/09/18 - 12/08/18
*Maine Primary	06/12/18	03/14/18 - 06/12/18
*Maryland Primary	06/26/18 2	03/28/18 - 06/26/18
*Maryland Convention - Green Party	04/30/18 2	01/30/18 - 04/30/18
*Maryland Convention - Libertarian Party	03/10/18 2	12/10/17 - 03/10/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
*Massachusetts Primary	09/04/18	06/06/18 - 09/04/18
*Michigan Primary	08/07/18 2	05/09/18 - 08/07/18
*Michigan Conventions	TBA 2	TBA
*Minnesota Primary	08/14/18	05/16/18 - 08/14/18
*Mississippi Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
Primary Runoff	06/26/18	03/28/18 - 06/26/18
*Missouri Primary	08/07/18	05/09/18 - 08/07/18
*Montana Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
*Nebraska Primary	05/15/18	02/14/18 - 05/15/18
*Nevada Primary	06/12/18	03/14/18 - 06/12/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
New Hampshire Primary	09/11/18	06/13/18 - 09/11/18
*New Jersey Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
*New Mexico Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
*New York Primary	06/26/18	03/28/18 - 06/26/18
North Carolina Primary	05/08/18	02/07/18 - 05/08/18
Primary Runoff	07/17/18	04/18/18 - 07/17/18
*North Dakota Primary	06/12/18	03/14/18 - 06/12/18
Northern Mariana Islands General	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
*Ohio Primary	05/08/18	02/07/18 - 05/08/18
Oklahoma Primary	06/26/18	03/28/18 - 06/26/18
Primary Runoff	08/28/18	05/30/18 - 08/28/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
Oregon Primary	05/15/18 2	02/14/18 - 05/15/18
Oregon Conventions	TBA 2	TBA
*Pennsylvania Primary	05/15/18	02/14/18 - 05/15/18
Puerto Rico Primary	(no federal elections held in 2018)
*Rhode Island Primary	09/12/18	06/14/18 - 09/12/18
South Carolina Primary	06/12/18 2	03/14/18 - 06/12/18
Primary Runoff	06/26/18	03/28/18 - 06/26/18
South Carolina Conventions	TBA 2	TBA
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
South Dakota Primary	06/05/18	03/07/18 - 06/05/18
Primary Runoff	08/14/18	05/16/18 - 08/14/18
*Tennessee Primary	08/02/18	05/04/18 - 08/02/18
*Texas Primary	03/06/18 2	12/06/17 - 03/06/18
Primary Runoff	05/22/18	02/21/18 - 05/22/18
*Texas Senate Convention - Minor Party	04/14/18 2	01/14/18 - 04/14/18
Texas Convention -- Minor Party [Single County Districts # 2, 3, 7, 16, 18, 20, 29, 30]	03/17/18 2	12/17/17 - 03/17/18
Texas Convention -- Minor Party [Multi-County Districts # 1, 4-6, 8-15, 17, 19, 21-28, 31-36]	03/24/18 2	12/24/17 - 03/24/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
*Utah Primary	06/26/18 2	03/28/18 - 06/26/18
*Utah Convention -- Constitution Party	TBA 2	TBA
*Utah Convention -- Democratic Party	04/28/18 2	01/28/18 - 04/28/18
*Utah Convention -- Green Party	04/21/18 2	01/21/18 - 04/21/18
*Utah Convention -- Independent American Party	04/21/18 2	01/21/18 - 04/21/18
*Utah Convention -- Libertarian Party	04/14/18 2	01/14/18 - 04/14/18
*Utah Convention -- Republican Party	04/21/18 2	01/21/18 - 04/21/18
*Utah Convention -- United Utah Party	04/28/18 2	01/28/18 - 04/28/18
*Vermont Primary	08/14/18	05/16/18 - 08/14/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
Virgin Islands Primary	08/04/18	05/06/18 - 08/04/18
General Runoff	11/20/18	08/22/18 - 11/20/18
*Virginia Primary	06/12/18 2	03/14/18 - 06/12/18
Virginia Convention -- Democratic Party [Dist. #5]	05/05/18 2	02/04/18 - 05/05/18
Virginia Convention -- Republican Party [Dist. #3]	05/05/18 2	02/04/18 - 05/05/18
Virginia Convention -- Republican Party [Dist. #5]	04/28/18 2	01/28/18 - 04/28/18
Virginia Convention -- Republican Party [Dist. #6]	05/19/18 2	02/18/18 - 05/19/18
Virginia Convention -- Republican Party [Dist. #7]	05/05/18 2	02/04/18 - 05/05/18
Virginia Convention -- Republican Party [Dist. #8]	04/28/18 2	01/28/18 - 04/28/18
State & Type of Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through election date)
*Washington Primary	08/07/18	05/09/18 - 08/07/18
*West Virginia Primary	05/08/18 2	02/07/18 - 05/08/18
*West Virginia Conventions	TBA 2	TBA
*Wisconsin Primary	08/14/18	05/16/18 - 08/14/18
*Wyoming Primary	08/21/18	05/23/18 - 08/21/18

* States holding 2018 Senate elections.

1 Election dates are subject to change.  This chart will be updated as additional information becomes available.

2 In Connecticut and Utah, conventions are held by the political parties prior to the primary. In Virginia, parties may choose to nominate by convention rather than by primary election. (In other states, such as Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia, it is possible that minor parties may schedule conventions to nominate candidates.)

3 In AO 2000-29 [PDF], the Commission determined that the last day to qualify for a position on the general election ballot in Louisiana--in this case 07/20/18--must be considered the primary election date for Louisiana candidates. See 11 CFR 100.2(c)(4)(i). The election for candidates seeking federal office is the general election scheduled for 11/06/18. Additionally, under state law if no candidate in the 11/06/18 general election receives over 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held on 12/08/18.

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Coordinated Communications Period for the General Election

	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through general election date)
General Election	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18

 

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Coordinated Communications Periods for Special Elections

Special Election	Election Date	Coordinated Communications Period (90-days prior through special election date)
Arizona 8th Congressional District Special Primary	02/27/18	11/19/17 - 02/27/18
Arizona 8th Congressional District Special General	04/24/18	01/24/18 - 04/24/18
Michigan 13th Congressional District Special Primary	08/07/18	05/09/18 - 08/07/18
Michigan 13th Congressional District Special General	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
Mississippi Senate Special General	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
Mississippi Senate Special General Runoff	11/27/18	08/29/18 - 11/27/18
New York 25th Congressional District Special General	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
Ohio 12th Congressional District Special Primary	05/08/18	02/07/18 - 05/08/18
Ohio 12th Congressional District Special General	08/07/18	05/09/18 - 08/07/18
Pennsylvania 7th Congressional District Special General	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
Pennsylvania 15th Congressional District Special General	11/06/18	08/08/18 - 11/06/18
Pennsylvania 18th Congressional District Special General	03/13/18	12/13/17 - 03/13/18
Texas 27th Congressional District Special General	06/30/18	04/01/18 - 06/30/18

 

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