#TBT: CMDI Makes FEC History

Nearly 20 years ago, CMDI made history when we submitted the first-ever electronic filing to the FEC for the Bob Dole for President campaign.

 

In 1996, we used DexFile, an offshoot of Dexter, the first political fundraising and compliance program released in 1993, to submit the first digital reports that the FEC would accept. The Dole campaign then used the electronic filings to apply for federal campaign matching funds. As noted from this Washington Post article from April 18, 1996:

Because presidential candidates can receive federal matching funds for the first $250 they raise from each individual donor, Dole brought in experts to help him qualify. He paid Campaign Mail & Data of Falls Church almost $1 million to process donor checks and qualify for about $10 million ($5.7 million of which he had received by the end of February) in federal money for the primary season.