Common Cause Connecticut, the election watchdog non-profit, has filed documents with the Federal Election Commission in opposition to the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee’s request to rule on whether the committee can use its federal account, usually used for Congressional races, to fund a statewide mailer in support of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
While the DSCC believes the mailer falls under federal GOTV – “get-out-the-vote” – guidelines, Common Cause points out that the state has tougher funding rules, such as the ban on state contractor contributions that are allowed to flow into its federal coffers.
“The Democratic State Central Committee is hoping to take advantage of more lax federal rules on fundraising by calling the mailer GOTV activity,” says a statement from Karen Hobert Flynn, senior vice president for programs and strategy of the national office of Common Cause. “The mailer is clearly a campaign piece designed to persuade voters to vote for Governor Malloy. The GOTV portion of the card is a mere 15 out of 195 words in small font in the corner of the mailer. Based on the FEC’s rules, those 15 words do not magically transform a mailer that promotes the reelection of Dannel Malloy into a GOTV piece.”
“We appreciate the CDSCC’s claim that it will not use funds donated by state contractors to pay for the mailer. The challenge is that there is no way to verify the state party’s compliance with this claim,” said Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause/Connecticut. “The Democratic State Central Party is clearly trying to set a precedent that would allow it to avoid compliance with Connecticut’s strong campaign finance laws,” said Hobert Flynn. “We hope the FEC rejects the state party’s effort to evade Connecticut’s strong campaign finance laws.”
