Reports filed electronically must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing date, otherwise the filer will be considered a nonfiler and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines.

True

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enforcement

An electronic report is received and passes the Commission's validation program by 11:59 p.m. ET on the filing date (otherwise the filer is treated as a nonfiler and may face enforcement).

Source summary
The Federal Election Commission published its 2026 filing guidance for political committees, outlining deadlines, filing schedules, and method-specific rules. Key points include the 2025 Year-End report due January 31, 2026; mandatory electronic filing for committees that receive or expect over $50,000 in a year; timing rules for mailed and overnight filings; 48- and 24-hour reporting requirements for independent expenditures; and lobbyist bundling disclosure thresholds that may be adjusted for COLA.
Latest fact check

Federal Election Commission guidance for 2025 reporting explicitly states that reports filed electronically "must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing date." The same guidance adds that electronic filers who file on paper or whose electronic reports do not pass the Commission’s validation program by that time "will be considered nonfilers and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines." [1][2]

The FEC’s 2026 supplemental filing information and its regulations on electronic filing (11 CFR 100.19 and 11 CFR 104.18) are consistent with this, specifying that only reports received and validated by 11:59 p.m. ET are timely filed, and that reports failing validation are not considered filed. [3][4][5] Therefore, the statement accurately reflects both FEC regulations and current official guidance.

Verdict: True, because official FEC rules and guidance directly use this 11:59 p.m. validation standard and explicitly characterize non‑validated or improperly filed electronic reports as nonfilings subject to potential enforcement and administrative fines.

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 02, 2026, 10:21 PMTrue
    Federal Election Commission guidance for 2025 reporting explicitly states that reports filed electronically "must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing date." The same guidance adds that electronic filers who file on paper or whose electronic reports do not pass the Commission’s validation program by that time "will be considered nonfilers and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines." [1][2] The FEC’s 2026 supplemental filing information and its regulations on electronic filing (11 CFR 100.19 and 11 CFR 104.18) are consistent with this, specifying that only reports received and validated by 11:59 p.m. ET are timely filed, and that reports failing validation are not considered filed. [3][4][5] Therefore, the statement accurately reflects both FEC regulations and current official guidance. Verdict: True, because official FEC rules and guidance directly use this 11:59 p.m. validation standard and explicitly characterize non‑validated or improperly filed electronic reports as nonfilings subject to potential enforcement and administrative fines.
  2. Original article · Jan 02, 2026

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