On March 17, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced it will be receiving but not processing mail.

The FEC closed its offices to visitors on March 13.

The delay in processing is due to the bulk of the agency’s staff teleworking in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

This affects all documents submitted on paper, including:

• • Non-electronically filed reports
  • Advisory opinion requests
  • Enforcement complaints
  • Court-case documents

While campaign finance reports filed electronically will be processed in the normal fashion, the FEC will not be processing campaign finance reports filed by mail or other delivery services until the agency resumes normal mail operations.

The FEC maintains filers should still continue to file their reports on time.

The FEC does not have legal authority to extend any deadlines, but it “may choose not to pursue administrative fines against filers prevented from filing by reasonably unforeseen circumstances beyond their control,” according to its press release.

All electronic filing systems, web-based programs, and the agency’s website remain online and functional.

The FEC staff will still respond to all telephone and email inquiries.