Federal Election Commission Effectively Shuts Down

The Center for Public Integrity reports:

Federal Election Commission Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen announced his resignation today. This means the agency that enforces and regulates the nation’s campaign finance laws will effectively shut down — something that hasn’t happened since 2008 — because it won’t have the legal minimum of four commissioners to make high-level decisions.

Petersen’s resignation, first reported by the Washington Examiner, will throw the FEC into turmoil for weeks — and perhaps months — as the nation enters the teeth of 2020 presidential and congressional elections.

For now, the FEC can’t conduct meetings. It can’t slap political scofflaws with fines. It can’t make rules. It can’t conduct audits and approve them. It can’t vote on the outcome of investigations.