Michael Toner Discusses 2020 Election’s Potential Implications for FEC

November 3, 2020

Michael E. Toner, chair of Wiley’s Election Law & Government Ethics Practice, was quoted by Business Insider in an article about potential changes to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) if Democrats win the presidency and both chambers of Congress in today’s election.

A Democrat-led Congress could propose a full set of reforms for the FEC, ranging from a reduction in the number of FEC commissioners – which might prevent deadlocks along ideological lines – to giving the FEC a slate of new enforcement and administrative powers, Business Insider reported.

Mr. Toner, a former FEC chairman, said such an overhaul appears likely if the Democrats win the White House and control of the Senate and maintain their House majority. But he said there could be “potential for partisan abuse” in that scenario.

“I’d be really surprised if we don’t have a new kind of FEC by 2022,” he said. “There’s just so much pent-up demand in the Democratic Party, especially the left wing of the Democratic Party.”

To read the article, click here (subscription required).