Establishing eligibility to receive presidential primary matching fund payments

To begin the process of seeking matching funds, presidential primary election candidates must submit a letter of agreements and certifications. This document is a contract with the government. In exchange for public funding, the candidates pledge to comply with the provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act and the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act. Presidential candidates also must agree to:

• Limit campaign spending for all primary elections combined to $10 million plus a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
• Limit campaign spending in each state to $200,000 plus COLA, or to a specified amount based on the number of voting age individuals in the state (plus COLA), whichever is greater.
• Limit spending from personal funds to $50,000.
• Submit documentation proving that disbursements by the candidate or any authorized committee(s) or agents are "qualified campaign expenses" as defined at 11 CFR 9032.9.
• Prepare matching fund submissions in accordance with the Guideline for Presentation in Good Order.
• Furnish all documentation required by the statute and FEC regulations.
• Facilitate an audit of their campaigns and make any necessary repayments.

The candidate must submit a candidate agreement that meets the stated requirements before the Commission will review the candidate’s threshold submission to determine eligibility for matching funds.

The Commission will examine the submission and either determine that the candidate has satisfied the minimum contribution threshold requirements or make an initial determination that the candidate has failed to satisfy the matching payment threshold requirements. The Commission will notify the candidate of its initial determination. During the presidential election year, the Commission will generally complete its review and make its determination within 15 business days.

If the Commission, however, makes an initial determination that a candidate or the candidate's authorized committee(s) have knowingly and substantially exceeded the expenditure limitations for publicly funded primary candidates prior to that candidate's application for certification, the Commission may make an initial determination that the candidate is ineligible to receive matching funds.

Matchable contributions

Once the Commission determines that a candidate has met the eligibility criteria, the candidate may submit contributions from individuals for matching. The Commission's audit staff reviews these submissions to see if the requests meet the standards for matchability.

Only contributions from individuals may be matched. Matchable contributions include:

• Checks and other negotiable written instruments;
• Purchases of tickets to fundraisers;
• Contributions collected through joint fundraising; and
• Contributions collected through online fundraising.

Loans, cash contributions, goods or services, contributions from political committees and contributions which are illegal under the campaign finance law are not matchable.

Certification of entitlement

Once the Commission is satisfied that the submissions comply with the law, it certifies to the U.S. Treasury an amount due to be paid to the candidate. By law, the Commission must certify the payment amounts to which the candidate is entitled by law within ten calendar days after the Commission determines that he or she has established eligibility. The first payments are not made until January of the election year.

Additional submissions

From that point forward, candidates may submit additional matching fund requests and receive payments on a monthly basis. Even if a candidate is no longer actively campaigning in primary elections, he or she may continue to request matching funds to pay off campaign debts and to wind down the campaign until early in the year following the election. Additional submissions must be prepared in compliance with the Commission’s Guideline for Presentation in Good Order. The last date for first-time submissions will be the first Monday in March of the year following the election. Eligible candidates may receive public funds equaling up to half of the national spending limit for the primary campaign. Because candidates receive many nonmatchable contributions, such as those from political committees, they generally raise more money than they receive in matching funds.

After the candidate's date of ineligibility, the candidate may only receive matching payments to the extent that the candidate’s committee has net outstanding campaign obligations. The date of ineligibility is the earliest of these three dates:

• Date of inactive candidacy. The ineligibility date in this case is the day on which an individual is no longer actively conducting campaigns in more than one state in connection with seeking the presidential nomination, and thus ceases to be a candidate. This date shall be the earliest of:
  • The date the candidate publicly announces that he or she will not be actively conducting campaigns in more than one state; or
  • The date the candidate notifies the Commission by letter that he or she is not actively conducting campaigns in more than one state; or
  • The date which the Commission determines to be the date that the candidate is not actively seeking election in more than one state.
    
• 30th day after receiving insufficient votes in two consecutive primaries. In this case, the ineligibility date is the 30th day following the date of the second consecutive primary election in which such individual receives less than 10 percent of the number of popular votes cast for all candidates of the same party for the same office in that primary election, if the candidate permitted or authorized his or her name to appear on the ballot, unless the candidate certifies to the Commission at least 25 business days prior to the primary that the individual will not be an active candidate in the primary involved.
  
  Although a candidate may certify to the Commission that the individual will not be an active candidate in an upcoming primary, the Commission may nevertheless make an initial determination that the candidate is an active candidate in the primary involved.
  
• End of matching payment period. For a major party, the matching payment period ends on the day of the nomination of the party’s general election candidate. For a candidate seeking the nomination of a party which does not make its nomination at a national convention, the matching payment period ends on the earlier of the date the party nominates its presidential candidate, or the last day of the last national convention held by a major party in the calendar year.

Even if they no longer campaign actively in primary elections, candidates may continue to request public funds to pay off campaign debts until the first Monday of March of the year following an election. However, to qualify for matching funds, contributions must be deposited in the campaign account by December 31 of the election year. After a candidate's date of ineligibility, the Commission will review each additional submission and resubmission, and will certify to the Secretary of the Treasury, at least once a month on dates to be determined and published by the Commission, an amount to which the ineligible candidate is entitled.

Determination of active or inactive candidacy

In making a determination of inactive candidacy in order to determine eligibility, the Commission may consider, but is not limited to considering, the following factors:

• The frequency and type of public appearances, speeches, and advertisements;
• Campaign activity with respect to soliciting contributions or making expenditures for campaign purposes;
• Continued employment of campaign personnel or the use of volunteers;
• The release of committed delegates;
• The candidate urges his or her delegates to support another candidate while not actually releasing committed delegates;
• The candidate urges supporters to support another candidate.

Depending on how the date of ineligibility was established, a candidate determined to be ineligible may reestablish eligibility for matching funds. A candidate whose eligibility is reestablished by the Commission may submit, for matching payment, contributions received during ineligibility.

Candidates found to be inactive

An inactive candidate may reestablish eligibility for matching payments by submitting to the Commission evidence of active campaigning in more than one state. The day the Commission determines to be the day the candidate becomes active again will be the date on which eligibility is reestablished.

Candidates who received insufficient votes in two consecutive primaries

A candidate who received insufficient votes in two consecutive primaries may reestablish eligibility if the candidate receives at least 20 percent of the total number of votes cast for candidates of the same party for the same office in a primary election held subsequent to the date of the election which rendered the candidate ineligible.