Federal Role in U.S. Campaigns and Elections: An Overview

Conventional wisdom holds that the federal government plays relatively little role in U.S. campaigns and elections. Although states retain authority for most aspects of election administration, a closer look reveals that the federal government also has steadily increased its presence in campaigns and elections in the past 60 years. Altogether, dozens of congressional committees and federal agencies could be involved in federal elections under current law. Congress faces a complex mix of traditional oversight areas and developing ones throughout the elections field. This report provides the House and Senate with a resource for understanding the current campaigns and elections regulatory structure. The report addresses those areas of law and public policy that most directly and routinely affect American campaigns and elections. This includes six broad categories of law through which Congress has assigned various agencies roles in regulating or supporting campaigns, elections, or both. These are campaign finance; election administration; election security; redistricting; qualifications and contested elections; and voting rights. Tables throughout the report, and two appendices at the end of the report, are designed to help the reader locate key information quickly. Appendix A provides a quick reference of key agency roles and statutory citations by policy area. Appendix B briefly summarizes information about executive orders issued during 2020 or later that are or were substantially related to federal elections policy. No single federal agency is in charge of the federal role in campaigns and elections, just as multiple statutes address various aspects of the field. Two federal agencies’ duties are devoted solely to elections issues. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) administers available federal funding for state and territorial election administration, and provides these jurisdictions with information about election administration. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) administers civil aspects of federal campaign finance law. Congress has charged other departments and agencies with supporting campaigns and elections policy in specific cases, although those agencies’ primary roles are focused on areas beyond elections. Examples include the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), and component organizations comprising the Intelligence Community (IC). Statutory requirements establish specific, typically long-term roles for the federal government, the states, or both. Other factors, such as executive orders, changes in presidential or agency policy priorities, agency organization, funding, and emerging policy challenges, can affect the implementation of federal statutes affecting campaigns and elections. This report does not track legislation that proposes changes in the policy environment discussed herein. It will be updated occasionally to reflect major developments.