(The Center Square) — Maine’s top election watchdog said it will investigate a campaign messaging tactic called ‘red boxing’ that is being used by several democratic candidates running for governor.
The Maine Ethics Commission voted 4-0 to seek a legal opinion from the Maine Attorney General’s office on the practice of political candidates coordinating with political action committees backing them to get around campaign finance laws.
Three Democrats running for governor — Nirav Shah, Hannah Pingree and Troy Jackson — have been accused of using ‘red boxing’ in their campaign messaging, but the panel suggested it likely won’t pursue any action against the trio for violations of election laws.
The probe was based on a complaint filed against Shah, the state’s former public health director, who later asked commissioners to conduct a similar review of Pingree’s and Jackson’s campaigns to determine if they were also using red boxing in their messaging.
“In most cases, it is illegal for a candidate to suggest that a supportive group advertise to promote the candidate, because the group’s spending would amount to a contribution that exceeds the applicable limit,” the commission wrote in a complaint
While there are no limits on the amount that a source may give to a super-PAC, the commission pointed out in its complaint that candidates are “sharply limited” in what they can accept from contributors under federal and state campaign finance laws.
“Because of this contrast (limited contributions to candidates vs. unlimited contributions to PACs), it can be tempting for a candidate to invite advertising by PACs they know are supportive,” the commission said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Election Commission has “signaled” that it will not initiate enforcement matters against red boxing, the commission said, “a perception has grown among some campaign consultants that red boxing is generally legal.”
“Depending on how the Commission views red boxing as a matter of policy, the Commission staff suggests clarifying that red boxing is not necessarily safe in Maine state elections,” they wrote. “The FEC’s rule on coordinated spending is substantially different from Maine law. People in Maine expect a high degree of compliance from their candidates and a high level of responsiveness from their regulators.”
Still, the commission’s complaint said posting a red box message to a candidate website “does not, in itself, violate any provision in Maine campaign finance law.”
“It becomes a legal violation only if another party makes an expenditure at the suggestion of the candidate that exceeds the contribution limit,” they wrote.
