The Federal Election Commission has questioned all of the Democratic and Republican congressional candidates who appeared on Arkansas’ general election ballots about potential errors in their campaign-finance reports.
In November, Republicans secured control of all four of the state’s U.S. House seats; they also won the fundraising battle.
A review of the candidates’ end-of-year reports filed with the commission shows that the Republicans raised more than the Democrats by nearly 10-to-1.
Companies such as Stephens Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Riceland Foods and Tyson Foods gave more to Republicans; so did political action committees. Republicans also were more likely to get contributions from out ofstate than were their Democratic counterparts.
According to the election commission, the four Republican candidates raised $6.1 million of the $6.8 million collected by Arkansas’ U.S. House candidates. The reports cover January 2011 to Dec. 31, 2012.
The Democratic candidates brought in more contributions from labor and the health industry.
Regardless of how much they raised, in the past few months the commission has asked the candidates for more information on issues ranging from donations they received, money they contributed to other campaigns or money they spent on their campaigns.
Commission records show that some congressional candidates in the past twoelections received similar letters.
The letters, titled a Request for Additional Information, are sent when a commission analyst notices an error, omission or possible prohibited activity. They’re also sent when the campaigns didn’t provide all the required information about how they are collecting or spending campaign funds. Campaigns have 35 days in which to respond and cannot get an extension. According to the commission website, there is no follow-up on the campaign’s response unless the response raises more questions.
Those who don’t respond may be audited or assessed fines. Some of the letters to candidates state that in deciding whether to assess fines, the commission will take into consideration a candidate’s speedy response and proof that the error was fixed.
The election commission wasn’t able to provide statistics Friday on how many letters it sends during each election.
Brendan Glavin of the Washington-based Campaign Finance Institute, said the federal inquiries aren’t surprising.
“It’s pretty common,” said Glavin, a data manager for a think tank that specializes in campaign-finance policy. “If the FEC brings up an issue and then they get a proper response and there’s some kind of correction [if necessary], then I don’t think it goes any further. Most of these things revolve around record-keeping and accounting.”
Records for states surrounding Arkansas show a similar rate of one or two letters from the commission per candidate during an election.
The commission asked for the most information from 2nd District U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, a Republican from Little Rock, who representsmuch of central Arkansas.
In December, the commission sent Griffin a letter regarding several errors in his July financial report, including donations designated as being for the primary that were received after the primary; donations disclosed from one organization that was not registered with the commission as a political committee; a donation that exceeded federal limits by $250; and contributions to three out-of-state congressional candidates from the Griffin campaign that are double the federal limit. The letter states that Griffin had until Jan. 22 to respond. Griffin said he learned about the letter Friday.
“I never saw this one, and nobody on my team had ever seen it,” he said. “I don’t see anything on there that can’t be answered fairly quickly.”
He said it appears that some of the information was put in the report improperly. For instance, the donations to other candidates should have been split, with $2,000 for the primary election and $2,000 for the general election, he said. Instead, the report shows that all $4,000 was for the general election. He said an amended report should be filed Monday.
Griffin said that with the large number of contributions and expenditures - and the multiple fields of information required for each entry - human error can occur. Griffin reported 1,282 itemized contributions in the election cycle on his end-of-year report.
“People make errors,” he said. “It’s just a lot of data.”
Griffin stressed that his campaign accountant corrects errors as soon as they are found. The congressman, who was elected to his second term in November, said it is common for the commission to ask for more information. He called it a conversation when the commission needs assurance that campaigns are following the law.
“Sometimes it’s ‘hey, just want to make sure,’” Griffin said. “It’s perfectly normal. We deal with these … prettymuch every year.”
Griffin reported raising $1.62 million between January 2011 and Dec. 31, 2012. He spent $1.66 million. According to his report, he has $41,371 on hand. Griffin said he also carried over some funds from his first campaign.
His Democratic opponent, lawyer Herb Rule of Little Rock reported raising $251,060, which included $142,060 that he lent his campaign. He spent $238,701, leaving him with $12,359 on hand. He reported still owing himself $132,160.
In October, the commission asked Rule’s campaign for more information, including about donors. He also was asked about giving himself a campaign donation within 48 hours of the election, something he did not report on his July report. An amended report was filed. The commission asked the Democratic candidate in the 1st District, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington of Jonesboro, for more information on seven organizations listed in his July quarterly report. He was asked to respond by Nov. 23 and explain where the organizations got their money because they were not registered with the commission as political committees. The commission’s records show that Ellington’s campaign responded Dec. 3 with a one-page letter.
Ellington initially said Friday that he wasn’t aware of the letter until contacted by a reporter.
“That’s something that I rely on someone who is a professional to do,” he said. Ellington said later that the campaign had not heard back from the commission since it submitted its response.
Ellington’s year-end report shows that he raised $372,375 for his campaign. He spent $370,676, leaving him with $1,698. Ellington reported $8,294 in debt.
A Jan. 22 commission letter to 1st District U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro, states that the campaign discloseddisbursements to federal candidate committees in its post-general election report, but did not include the recipient’s full name, complete address, date, the amount, purpose, state, office sought and district. Commission records show that Crawford’s campaign amended the filing Jan. 27.
On his most-recent report, Crawford reported raising $1.34 million for his campaign. He spent $1.27 million and had $155,981 left.
The 1st District covers the eastern edge of the state from Chicot County in southeast Arkansas to Clay County in north Arkansas, and spreads west to include Searcy County.
In the 4th District, U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle reported raising $2.21 million. He spent $2.1 million, leaving him with $118,350 on hand.
His Democratic opponent, former state Sen. Gene Jeffress of Louann, reported raising $100,330 and spending $98,039. He reported having $322 left.
During the campaign, thecommission warned Jeffress that his July quarterly report was not acceptable because it was not submitted electronically. In August, the commission asked Jeffress for more information about his pre-primary report, including more details about contributions and a summary page of disbursement. On Jan. 31, the commission asked Cotton in a letter to provide more detail about expenditures reported on his October 2011 quarterly report. It states that the campaign failed to provide the purpose for all itemized expenditures. He filed an amended report Feb. 1.
The 4th District stretches from Ashley County across the southern border of the state and northwest to Madison County in Northwest Arkansas.
Third District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers was asked for more information early in the campaign, including in his April quarterly report disclosures of donations from organizations that were not registered with the commission as political committees, and contributions in excess of federal limits from the American Bankers Association Political Action Committee. He amended his report.
In his most recent report, Womack reported raising $932,788. He spent $602,443 and had $407,109 left.
Womack’s Democratic opponent, Ken Aden of Russellville, withdrew from the race in July after articles in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette showed that he had misled voters about his military record. His name did not appear on the ballot. The commission asked for more information about Aden’s April report, including incorrect calculations, contributions not itemized correctly and improperdocumentation of some inkind contributions (when a candidate receives a gift of a service or product instead of cash). His campaign filed an amended report in August and in October.
The 3rd District is in Northwest Arkansas.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 15 on 02/10/2013