What Federal Election Commission does

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent U.S. federal regulatory agency established in 1975 under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, charged with administering and enforcing federal campaign finance law. The agency holds exclusive statutory jurisdiction over the civil enforcement of campaign finance regulations and processes disclosures from federal political candidates, political action committees (PACs), political party committees, and other regulated entities, while making the resulting information publicly accessible. The FEC is governed by six commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, with no more than three from the same political party; the agency's own website shows that as of mid-2026 only two seats are filled (Shana M. Broussard serving as Acting Chair and Dara Lindenbaum), leaving four commissioner seats vacant, which has material implications for advisory opinion and enforcement quorum.

The FEC's technology infrastructure centers on the OpenFEC API, which provides programmatic access to federal campaign finance data spanning election cycles from 1980 through 2030, and FECFile, an electronic filing system used by candidates and committees to submit required reports. The agency publishes open-source code through its GitHub repository (fecgov/FEC) and operates the public fec.gov portal that exposes campaign finance data, legal resources, and compliance guidance. Additional operational services include the Reports Analysis Division (RAD) Question Submission platform for compliance assistance, FOIA request processing with an e-reading room, the FEC Calendar tracking filing deadlines and commission meetings, and an enforcement apparatus spanning Matters Under Review (MURs), Alternative Dispute Resolution, and an Administrative Fine Program for late or non-filed reports.

The FEC is funded through congressional appropriations rather than commercial revenue, and all services, including API access and electronic filing, are provided free of charge to the public; nominal per-page and certification fees apply only to certain FOIA duplication requests. Its "go-to-market" is statutory compliance: regulated entities are legally required to file reports and adhere to contribution limits, and the agency issues advisory opinions (archive dating from 1975 to present) interpreting how FECA applies to specific factual situations. Public outreach is delivered through email (FECMail via GovDelivery), YouTube (FECTube), X/Twitter (@fec), the FEC Record newsletter, Tips for Treasurers, and Open Commission Meetings.

Name

Federal Election Commission

Legal name

Federal Election Commission

Website

https://fec.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Federal Election Commission is an independent U.S. federal regulatory agency that administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act, processing disclosures from federal candidates, PACs, and party committees and providing public access to campaign finance data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal Election Regulation

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Public Finance Activities (921130), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Communications, Transparency & Open Government (BPAIAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA), Financial Risk, Controls & Audit (Public Sector) (BPAIAEAH)

Keywords

• Federal election regulation
• Campaign finance data
• Political committee compliance
• Advisory opinion services
• Electronic filing systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Federal Election Commission is an independent U.S. federal regulatory agency that administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act. It provides public access to federal campaign finance data through searchable online databases and the OpenFEC API, issues advisory opinions on campaign finance law, processes electronic filings from candidates and political committees, and exercises exclusive civil enforcement jurisdiction over federal campaign finance law through Matters Under Review (MURs), Alternative Dispute Resolution, and the Administrative Fine Program.

Product overview

The Federal Election Commission operates as a U.S. government regulatory agency providing public access to campaign finance information and legal compliance resources. The core product portfolio centers on Campaign Finance Data, a comprehensive database of federal election fundraising and spending; Legal Resources encompassing advisory opinions, enforcement actions, and regulatory guidance; Enforcement processes for civil campaign finance violations; RAD Question Submission for compliance assistance; FOIA request processing; and the FEC Calendar for tracking compliance deadlines. The agency also provides FECFile, an electronic filing system for campaign finance reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Campaign Finance Data

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• OpenFEC APIcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe OpenFEC API provides programmatic access to the FEC's campaign finance data, enabling developers, researchers, and journalists to build applications that track federal campaign finances.
• GitHub (fecgov/FEC)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe FEC maintains open-source code repositories on GitHub, including the main FEC web application and release notes, enabling transparency and community collaboration.
• api.open.fec.govcoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial API endpoint providing developers access to campaign finance data including candidates, committees, contributions, and filings.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Independent federal agency enforcing consumer protection and competition law with multi-member commission structure; analogous regulatory architecture to the FEC but across commercial sectors.
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC): Independent federal regulatory commission with multi-member structure, rulemaking, and enforcement authority; shares FEC's commission-driven regulatory model but operates in a much larger industry.
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): Federal regulatory agency overseeing financial disclosures and capital markets; comparable to FEC as a financial-disclosure regulator with public EDGAR-style data platform and enforcement remit.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Federal financial regulatory agency administering consumer financial protection rules; comparable to FEC in regulating financial conduct and operating a public-facing data/complaint platform.
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): Independent federal agency with multi-member board structure enforcing labor law; shares FEC's commission-based regulatory model and adjudication processes.

Others

• Government Accountability Office (GAO): Congressional watchdog providing oversight and audit reports on federal programs; shares FEC's transparency mission and public records infrastructure, though it does not regulate.
• Office of Inspector General (federal OIGs): FEC's own Inspector General and the broader federal OIG community conduct independent oversight, audits, and investigations of federal agencies; the FEC OIG is hosted at oig.fec.gov and is directly adjacent.

Emerging players

• OpenSecrets (Center for Responsive Politics): Nonprofit that aggregates and republishes federal campaign finance data (largely sourced from FEC filings) for journalists and researchers; downstream consumer of FEC data with overlapping transparency mission.

Direct peers

• Office of Government Ethics (OGE): Independent federal agency overseeing executive branch ethics disclosure; comparable to FEC in being a small federal body that administers financial disclosure regimes and operates a public-facing data infrastructure.
• Election Assistance Commission (EAC): Independent U.S. federal agency supporting election administration; directly comparable to FEC as a federal body overseeing federal election integrity from an adjacent (administration vs. finance) angle.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FECupdates
• GitHubgithub.com/fecgov/fec
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/FECTube
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/election-commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Federal Election Commission