LITTLE ROCK — Fourth District congressional candidate Gene Jeffress has not submitted his July quarterly financial report electronically, despite a warning from the Federal Election Commission nearly a month ago.
Jeffress said he has received no notification from the FEC. He said he learned of the warning Tuesday when asked by a reporter.
“They have not sent me any letters or any announcements that we’ve done anything wrong,” he said. “You’re telling me something is missing. That’s just malarkey as far as I’m concerned until they let me know.”
The FEC warned Jeffress by e-mail July 6 that the report he submitted for the three months that make up the last quarter is not acceptable because it was not submitted electronically. The letter is available on the FEC website at query.nictusa.com/ cgi-bin/fecimg/?C00504894 under the heading Miscellaneous Document.
Jeffress said he was told by a person at the FEC that the commission had a computer glitch around the time the letter was sent. He said he also switched from a Black-Berry to an iPhone around that time and lost e-mail access for a few days.
Campaigns may submit financial reports by paper copy until they have raised, or can expect to raise, $50,000 within a year. That is required in 11 Code of Federal Regulations section 104.18.
The most recent paper report filed by Jeffress gives two amounts for how much he has raised. In one location, it states he has raised $61,310. In another it states he has raised $59,831.
Once a candidate passes the $50,000 fundraising or spending threshold, the FEC no longer accepts paper filings as valid.
“Any filer who is required to file electronically, but instead files on paper, will be considered a non-filer and may be subject to enforcement action under the administrative fine program,” the FEC website states.
The letter, signed by Jodi Winship, chief of the FEC Reports Analysis Division’s Compliance Branch, states that Jeffress could be subject to monetary penalties, an audit or legal enforcement action.
“Your reporting obligation will not be satisfied until you file the above-referenced report in an electronic format,” the letter states.
If the FEC starts a penalty investigation it will be confidential until the case has been decided by the commission.
Jeffress said the campaign first needs to acquire the proper software so it can submit the report electronically.
“We’re getting it all taken care of,” Jeffress said. “We are definitely trying.”
Jeffress, a long-serving state senator and music teacher, is competing against former Army Capt. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle, who has held a dominating fundraising advantage since last fall.
The district ranges from Ashley County across the southern half of the state and extends up to Madison County in Northwest Arkansas.
With 33 counties, it is the largest of the state’s four congressional districts. It is also the only Arkansas congressional race without an incumbent.
The paper copy of the July report was the first report Jeffress has submitted by the due date.
Jeffress has been warned by the commission through letters for not turning in campaign finance reports by the deadline for April, before the primary and after the primary. The FEC website shows Jeffress submitted the reports after receiving the FEC letters.
The FEC has not sent a warning letter to Cotton.
Cotton reported raising $1.4 million for his campaign as of June 30.
“Gene’s a nice guy and I’m sure he’s trying his best to comply with the FEC,” Cotton spokesman Doug Coutts said.
Green Party candidate Joshua Drake of Hot Springs and Libertarian candidate Robert “Bobby” Tullis of Mineral Springs also will be on the ballot.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 08/01/2012