Public Disclosure Commission fines state Republican Party $5,000 for violating campaign disclosure laws

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 Commission found that the party made an illegal contribution to a political committee, accepted over-limit anonymous contributions, failed to include sponsor ID on a text message in the 2023 election, and delayed reporting the expenditure until after the election was over.

The Commission heard testimony on the case during its Oct. 24 regular meeting.

PDC staff filed administrative charges against the state Republican Party earlier this month. In its written order, the Commission found four violations: 

1. Failure to include sponsor identification information in a campaign text in 2023. Campaigns are required to include sponsor identification on text messages, as they are in most other forms of political advertising. The text message, sent in the days before the 2023 general election, said, “Reject Han Tran anti-semitic Northshore school board candidate who calls for Israel’s destruction and the elimination of Jews. Vote 11/7, protect kids.”
1. The PDC received complaints that the message did not contain sponsor ID and conducted an investigation, eventually linking the message to the Washington State Republican Party. The party acknowledged that it had sponsored the ad and failed to include sponsor ID or timely report the expenditure as required. 
2. Submission of expenditure reports related to that 2023 text message 87 days late and 80 days after the election.
3. Expenditure of $100,000 from the party’s exempt fund to the Let’s Go Washington ballot measure committee for unallowed activities. State party committees can have an 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 get-out-the-vote drives, sample ballots, internal costs or independent expenditures, but does not allow direct contributions to other campaigns.
4. Failure to disclose the source of monetary contributions in the 2024 election cycle and deposited over-limit anonymous contributions. The party deposited $106,500 in unattributed, “anonymous” contributions on Sept. 17, 2024. 
1. Campaigns and committees are restricted to accept no more than $500 or 1 percent of their total contributions in a calendar year from anonymous sources. The party amended its report to disclose the contributors a couple of days before the hearing. 
2. 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 limitation.

The Commission can issue fines of up to $10,000 per violation. The $5,000 penalty included $1,000 suspended if the committee meets certain conditions, including transferring $100,000 from its non-exempt fund to its exempt fund to reimburse the illegal expenditure. Read the full order here.

Campaigns or committees found in violation can ask the Commission for reconsideration within 10 days of the order, or appeal to the order to Superior Court within 30 days of the order.