WA Public Disclosure Commission fines GOP $5,000 for funding and advertising violations

The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission on Tuesday issued a $5,000 fine to the Washington State Republican Party for four campaign finance and political advertising violations.

The PDC found that the party made an illegal contribution to a political committee, accepted anonymous contributions that exceeded limits, failed to identify the party as a sponsor of a text message in the 2023 election, and delayed reporting expenses until after the election. .

The commission heard testimony on the case on its own time October 24 regular meeting. PDC staff submitted administrative fees against the state Republican Party earlier this month.

In its written order, the Commission found four violations:

Not including sponsor identification information in a campaign text in 2023. Campaigns must include sponsor identification on text messages and most other forms of political advertising.

The text message, sent in the days before the 2023 general election, read: “Reject anti-Semitic Northshore school board candidate Han Tran who calls for the destruction of Israel and the elimination of Jews. Vote 7/11, protect the children.”

The PDC received complaints that the message did not contain the sponsor ID and conducted an investigation, ultimately linking the message to the Washington State Republican Party. The party admitted to sponsoring the ad and did not include the sponsor ID.

Sending expense reports related to that 2023 text message 87 days late and 80 days after the election. The party acknowledges that it did not report expenses in a timely manner as required.

Expenditure of $100,000 from the party’s exempt fund to the Let’s Go Washington ballot measure committee for impermissible activities. State party committees may have a exempt fund and a non-exempt fund. Exempt accounts are not subject to contribution limits, but can only be used for limited purposes such as voting units, ballots, internal costs or independent expenses, but do not allow direct contributions to other campaigns.

Failure to disclose the source of monetary contributions in the 2024 election cycle and anonymous contributions made over the limit. The party filed $106,500 in unassigned “anonymous” contributions on September 17, 2024. Campaigns and committees are limited to accepting no more than $500 or 1 percent of their total contributions in a calendar year from anonymous sources. The party amended its report to reveal the contributors days before the hearing. If a political committee knows the source of a contribution, it cannot be hidden from the public as “anonymous,” even if the amount falls within the $500 or 1 percent limit.

The PDC can issue fines of up to $10,000 per violation. The $5,000 penalty included $1,000 suspended if the committee met certain conditions, including transferring $100,000 from its non-exempt fund to its exempt fund to reimburse the illegal expenses.

The Republican Party may ask the Commission for reconsideration within 10 days of the order or may appeal the order to the Superior Court within 30 days of the order.

“The Washington State Republican Party always cooperates with the Public Disclosure Commission and supports transparency at all levels of campaign finance,” Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh said in a statement.

He said the violations related to “a package of WAGOP minor projects”.

“The timing of these hasty conclusions is noteworthy – just around the corner from the general election. WAGOP will consider all options to respond to the PDC’s findings as permitted by law and tradition. But there is no need to match haste with haste. In the coming days, WAGOP is focused on winning the election.”