The Federal Election Commission quietly issued an advisory last week allowing candidates to raise unlimited money for advocacy groups working on ballot measures in elections in which those candidates are on the ballot.
The opinion, issued in response to a request from a Nevada-based abortion rights group, could significantly change the landscape this fall in terms of the ability candidates who join these groups have to help them raise money.
The decision applies to all federal candidates, but with a presidential election in six months, most of the attention will be on that race. If Mr. Biden can raise money for abortion rights ballot measures, he could add to a pre-existing fundraising advantage his team currently has over Mr. Trump.
The decision could affect turnout in battleground states like Nevada, where razor-thin margins will determine elections. In Arizona, an abortion rights group said it had the number of signatures needed to put a referendum on the ballot. Florida — a state that reliably voted for Republicans in recent presidential elections — has a similar measure on the ballot.
The advice means that both Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump can raise money for outside groups pushing ballot measures. In the wake of the repeal of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, abortion ballot measures are expected to be a major focus for Democrats this fall.
“I think it's quite significant,” said Adav Noti of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, calling it a huge change from the bans imposed in 2002 by the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.
The opinion was issued May 1 in response to a query from attorneys representing the group Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, which hopes to hold a referendum on the ballot in the fall. Several attorneys, including veteran Democratic lawyer Marc Elias, are representing the group.
The opinion found that federal candidates and officeholders can raise funds for the group's entities without being limited by dollar amounts or sources.
In recognition of how the parties might view the guidance, the National Republican Senatorial Committee challenged a draft of the measure a day before it was formalized. The objections included that such coordination between a candidate and an outside group would translate into an effort to get Democrats to vote in the Nevada effort, but the NRSC's concerns went unheeded.
Of the FEC's six commissioners, three Republicans and one Democrat agreed with the recommendation.
A spokesperson for the Biden campaign and a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee declined to comment.
The RNC's chief counsel, Charlie Spies, was removed from his position after just two months during a retreat for the committee's donors in Palm Beach, Florida. A spokeswoman for the Trump team did not immediately respond to a question about whether Mr. Spies' departure was justified. has nothing to do with the advice at all.
But Chris LaCivita, a top adviser to Mr. Trump who now helps steer the RNC as chief of staff, described the development as an opening.
“We will use all available opportunities, including new ones, to defeat the corruption and failure of the Democratic machine,” Mr. LaCivita said.
Mr. Noti said the bloc of commissioners recently issued other opinions with significant impact, including expanding the capabilities of super PACs.
“The combined effect of these decisions is having a really significant and demonstrable effect on the way campaigns are run, and it's all worse,” he said.