The Commonwealth Election Commission office in Susupe.
U.S. congressional delegate candidates are seeking a federal office and must follow Federal Election Commission guidelines, Commonwealth Election Commission Executive Director Kayla Igitol said in an email on Tuesday.
“The only requirement that U.S. congressional candidates need to do with the CEC is provide us with whatever documents they file with the FEC,” she added.
According to Igitol, “An individual triggers registration and reporting requirements with the FEC when campaign activity exceeds $5,000 in either contributions or expenditures. The $5,000 threshold is reached when the individual and/or persons he or she has authorized to conduct campaign activity receive over $5,000 in contributions or make over $5,000 in expenditures.”
Igitol said the CEC board is scheduled to meet on Aug. 19, 2024 to certify the candidates for the November election and discuss other CEC matters.
As of Tuesday, of the five delegate candidates, only House Floor Leader Edwin K. Propst, a Democrat, and former Commonwealth Ports Authority Board Chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds, a Republican, had registered with the FEC and reported the campaign contributions they had received.
According to the FEC, “Generally, an individual becomes a candidate for federal office (and thus triggers registration and reporting obligations) when his or her campaign exceeds $5,000 in either contributions or expenditures. If the campaign has not crossed the $5,000 threshold, it is not required to file reports.”
According to the FEC filing of King-Hinds, for the July quarterly report covering the dates of April 1 to June 30, 2024, the campaign contributions she had received totaled $48,639.28 of which $35,228.28 were received from individuals.
King-Hinds’ campaign had spent $19,474.69 as of filing deadline July 15, 2024.
Her campaign treasurer is Oliver Manglona.
On Aug. 2, 2024, the FEC notified Propst that he had failed to file the July quarterly report covering the dates of April 1 to June 30, 2024.
Edward Calvo, Propst’s campaign treasurer, told Variety: “For the initial FEC report, because the campaign had not yet raised or spent beyond the $50,000 threshold for the reporting period, and because we were experiencing technical issues with FEC’s filing software, we opted to submit our report by mail.”
“Our assigned FEC analyst confirmed that filing the report by mail was acceptable and encouraged us to file the next quarterly report electronically,” Calvo said.
He added, “On Aug. 8 we received an email from FEC confirming receipt of the initial report by the deadline, and again advising us to file electronically. We have resolved our technical issues with the FEC software and expect to upload our first report electronically this week.”
The FEC’s mail center stamped received Propst’s campaign contributions report on July 18, 2024, at 11:30 a.m.
In the mailed “Report of Receipts and Disbursement,” Propst’s campaign treasurer reported to the FEC that the candidate had received $24,600, all contributions from individuals for dates covering April 1 to June 30, 2024, and Propst’s campaign had spent $17,446.04 for the same period.
Besides Propst and King-Hinds, the other candidates for U.S. delegate are freelance business consultant and grants writer John Oliver Delos Reyes Bolis Gonzales, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Director Jim Rayphand, and Chamorro activist Leiana Hofschneider. The three are independent candidates.
Gonzales said, “I know my [Committee to Elect] Treasurer Dave Burger, a certified public accountant, will file all financials with both CEC & FEC.”
Rayphand said he will look into registering with the FEC.
Hofschneider said she will be filing with the FEC. “I’m ready to formalize my candidacy,” she added.
The FEC’s reporting deadline for candidates to the U.S. Congress is Oct. 24, 2024.