FEC vice chairman heavily involved in tech issues resigns, leaving agency unable to vote

Matthew Petersen, the vice chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), submitted his resignation letter to President Donald Trump, leaving the agency without the necessary number of commissioners to vote on proposed actions. Petersen, a Republican who has served as a commissioner since 2008, wrote that he will formally step down on Aug 31.  Petersen was heavily involved in technology issues, which he highlighted in his resignation letter. “To ensure promising new technologies designed to encourage voter outreach, small-dollar fundraising, and political association continue to flourish, I have consistently opposed unnecessarily rigid regulatory rulings,” Petersen wrote. “I've also been a staunch advocate for protecting the Internet as a vibrant medium for disseminating political speech and increasing participation in the democratic process.” In July, Petersen joined the other FEC commissioners in voting unanimously to allow federal political campaigns to accept discounted cybersecurity services from Area 1 Security. He also voted last year in favor of allowing federal campaigns and national parties to accept a package of “enhanced online account security features” from Microsoft.