Hernando Today
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Alleged Election Law Violation Is 'Common'
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Published: August 8, 2008
BROOKSVILLE - The election law violation alleged against school board candidate James Yant is a technicality that can be easily fixed, officials say.
A complaint was filed last week with the Florida Elections Commission over contributions from his insurance company, J.C. Yant Insurance Inc., that total more than $5,000. That violates the election law that states an individual contributor can only give $500, the anonymous complaint alleges.
Yant said the complaint has no substance. According to the Internal Revenue Service, his income as an "S corporation," or an incorporated State Farm agent, is treated as personal income and he can contribute as much as he wants to his campaign.
He said he did not classify the contributions as loans because he did not intend to repay himself with money given by supporters, and planned to donate any leftover funds to charity.
But even if he should technically be recording the contributions differently, candidates frequently make filing mistakes. Florida law provides candidates with a provision for candidates to amend their reports, Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams said.
"There's nothing unusual or wrong with him doing that," she said. "Sometimes candidates don't even realize they've filed something incorrectly until they get all the way to the end of their campaign, and then have to go back and amend everything. It's a very common thing to happen."
Jennifer Davis, a spokeswoman for the department of state, said filing an amended report will not automatically make the FEC complaint disappear, but does provide a valid point of reference that officials will take into consideration when examining the case.
Also, all determinations made by the FEC are purely administrative. Like many state statutes, the complaint would only be considered a potentially criminal charge — or felony — if the person who filed the complaint also filed it with the state attorney's office.
"The FEC can only impose a fine, not to exceed $1,000, per violation," Davis said.
FEC investigators are legally bound from commenting on specific cases until a probable cause determination is made, which would likely not occur until February.
On Thursday, Yant had not yet received official notification of the complaint and did not know who filed it. Hernando Today obtained a copy with the complainant's name left off.
However, since he did not "knowingly and willfully" commit a crime, as the complaint alleges, Yant said he suspects the complaint was made by someone who wanted to blemish his reputation by bringing it to the media.
He is in the process of finding out whether or not he needs to amend his report.
Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.
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