Sanjay Pal

The PDC received a complaint alleging that Sanjay Pal (the “Respondent”) may have violated RCW 42.17A.205 by failing to timely register as a candidate within two weeks of becoming a candidate and disclose the campaign’s Treasurer and banking information (depository).

PDC staff reviewed the allegations; the applicable statutes, rules and reporting requirements; the response provided by the Respondent; and the Respondent’s reporting history to determine whether they support a finding of one or more violations. Staff’s review found the following:

The Respondent is a first-time candidate for election who filed with Elections officials on May 15, 2019 and was therefore required to file a Candidate Registration (C-1 report) with the PDC within two weeks, or no later than May 29, 2019. The Respondent filed a C-1 report with the PDC on July 26, 2019 identifying its Treasurer and depository, which was received 58 days late. On the C-1 report, the Respondent selected the Mini-reporting Option, whereby a candidate’s campaign is not required to file C-3 & C-4 reports with the PDC if they raise & spend no more than $5,000 and receive no more than $500 from any one contributor. 

Noncompliance was the result of a good-faith omission, which the Respondent corrected prior to being notified of the complaint.

Based on these findings, staff determined that, in this instance, the Respondent’s failure to timely register as a candidate does not amount to a violation that warrants further investigation. However, the PDC reminded the Respondent about the importance of timely filing all future PDC reports. The PDC has dismissed this matter in accordance with RCW 42.17A.755(1).