ALABAMA STATE CAPITOL 5 (334) 242-7200 600 DEXTER AVENUE y FAX (334) 242-4993 SUITE S-105 WWW.SOS.ALABAMA.GOV MONTGOMERY, AL 36130 JOHN.MERRILL(@SOS.ALABAMA.GOV JoHN H. MERRILL SECRETARY OF STATE May 19, 2022 To Whom It May Concern My office was notified last week about certain electioneering communications being made in the campaign for Governor that do not appear to be in compliance with Alabama's election laws. The group paying for the commercials is identified as “Common Sense America Election Fund” (CSAEF) and is apparently based in McLean, Virginia. Our research indicates that CSAEF registered this year with the FEC as an Independent Expenditure PAC. CSAEF is paying to broadcast commercials across Alabama regarding a candidate for the Office of Governor. To date, CSAEF has not filed any information regarding its contributions or expenditures with either the FEC or with my office. However, publicly available reports from broadcasters suggest that CSAEF is spending/has spent over $500,000 on such commercials. My staff has attempted to contact CSAEF to express our concems for several days. We have not been able to reach anyone at the phone number the PAC has on file with the FEC. Also, the email address associated with their FEC registration is non-responsive to our messages, Given what appears to be a lack of compliance with campaign finance laws and the non- responsiveness to our inquiries, we are now calling attention to this situation in hopes that it can be addressed in a timely matter and to ensure that Alabama’s election laws are complied with. If you have any questions, please contact Hugh Evans with my office at hugh.evans@sos.alabama.gov Sincerely, WMD John H. Merrill Secretary of State