FEC Says Donor Lists Cannot be Used for Sending Educational Materials - October 20, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 21

October 20, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 21:

Published: 10/20/2003

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FEC Says Donor Lists Cannot be Used for Sending Educational Materials

In June the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids (NCTFK) asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for an Advisory Opinion (AO) on whether it can use donor information from the FEC database to target educational mailings. NCTFK is a nonpartisan organization exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. The FEC went against the recommendation of its General Counsel and denied the request.

AO 2003-24 was approved at the October 9 meeting of the FEC. It interprets 2 U.S.C. 438(a)(4) and 11 CFR 104.15, which prohibit use of information from FEC reports for any commercial purpose, solicitation or fundraising, as “a broad prophylactic measure intended to protect the privacy of the contributors.” Although NCTFK had said it would strictly limit its mailings to educational information, the FEC said such mailings “present the possibility of repetitive and intrusive communications to contributors.”

The General Counsel had recommended allowing general educational communications, as well as grassroots lobbying appeals. However, they recommended that such mailings not include information about how to sign up for further communications, since that would likely lead to future fundraising solicitation. NCTFK said it would code responses to ensure the contacts did not receive future solicitations.

The Campaign Legal Center submitted a letter urging the FEC to recognize clear boundaries set by the law, citing past Advisory Opinions that said the prohibition on using FEC donor information only extends to fundraising or commercial purposes.

FEC Advisory Opinions only apply to the organization requesting them, but are often used as guidance by groups in similar situations.