On May 15, the Federal Election Commission finally ruled on the extent to which a candidate for federal office may receive additional contributions from contributors who had already given the maximum, when the candidate’s campaign treasurer embezzles the money from the original contribution. The FEC ruled that if a contribution was deposited into any bank account controlled by the treasurer, that money cannot be replaced with a new contribution.

The ruling had been requested by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, back in January. The only relief the FEC gave her is that if the original contribution was never deposited into any bank account connected with the campaign treasurer, then that contribution is deemed never to have existed, and the campaign can seek a new contribution.

According to Eric Dondero, Americans Elect has suspended all its petitioning across the nation, except that Americans Elect will complete its Texas petition. Dondero is a veteran petitioner and petition drive organizer.

In 2010, the Ohio election law was amended to require all qualified parties to certify the names of their presidential and vice-presidential nominees by 90 days before the general election. In 2012, that would be August 8. However, neither the Democratic Party, nor the Republican Party, will have held their national conventions that early.

The Ohio law is section 3505.10(B). It says the November ballot, in presidential years, will include “the names of the candidates for president and vice-president certified to the secretary of state or nominated in one of the following manners: (1) Nominated by the national convention of a political party to which delegates and alternates were elected in this state at the next preceding primary election. A political party certifying candidates so nominated shall certify the names of those candidates to the secretary of state on or before the 90th day before the day of the general election.”

Texas had a similar problem in 2008. The law required the names to be certified by a date that was earlier than the date of the Republican and Democratic national conventions. The Secretary of State did not enforce the deadline in 2008, and in 2009 the Texas legislature repealed the deadline. The Ohio legislature is still in session so it could fix the problem if it wished.