How Much Will The FEC Shutdown Affect The '08 Election?

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How Much Will The FEC Shutdown Affect The '08 Election?
By Paul Kiel - January 4, 2008, 1:45PM


The Federal Election Commission, the agency that administers and enforces campaign finance laws, has shut down.

How big of a deal is that? Well, the consequences will not be immediately felt -- but if it stays shut down, it could significantly affect the 2008 elections.

As of now, the FEC has only two commissioners. It needs four to do anything. The reason for the shortage, of course, is the Senate stalemate over vote-suppression guru Hans von Spakovsky's nomination. Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and others have opposed Republicans' efforts to have Spakovsky bundled with three other FEC nominees (2 Dems and another Republican).

And when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) tried to hold up-or-down votes on each of the nominees separately in December, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blocked it. And that's where things stand. The White House says that it's standing behind Spakovsky (even though he's packed his bags and gone).

The FEC's shutdown could affect the election in a number of ways. The first and most obvious is the oversight role it plays with third party groups, such as 527s and nonprofits that spend tens of millions of dollars each election. But there are other -- probably greater -- ramifications.

For instance, the FEC disburses public matching funds for candidates. Since it's shutdown, it's prevented from doing that. And since John Edwards is the highest profile candidate to participate in that system, it might become a problem for him.

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