The Federal Election Commission has rejected a complaint by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party alleging Iowa-based American Future Fund violated federal election law by failing to register and report as a political committee.

The complaint alleged the conservative non-profit aired a television advertisement advocating the re-election of former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. Under federal election law, the organization is prohibited from engaging solely in “express advocacy,” which would include asking voters to vote for or against a certain candidate.

The ad in question didn’t ask voters to vote for Coleman, but rather asked voters to “call Norm Coleman and thank him for his agenda for Minnesota.”

If it was found to have been engaging in “express advocacy,” American Future Fund would have been forced to file an independent expenditure report and publically name its donors.

The FEC, however, rejected the complaint and ruled the group did not violate the Federal Election Campaign Act with its TV ads.

In an interview with the Iowa Independent last year, Paul S. Ryan, FEC program director for the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, said as long as an organization is careful about how it writes the script of its ad it can fly under the radar or stay outside of the net of campaign finance activity.

The American Future Fund touts itself as the conservative answer “[President Barack] Obama’s “fundraising machine.” In 2008, the organization spent millions of dollars for advertising in competetive Senate races around the country. Its leadership includes former state Republican lawmaker Sandy Greiner and former Republican Party of Iowa executive director Nicole Schilnger.

The organization also has ties to national Republican figures who played key roles in the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads in 2004 and the Willie Horton ad in 1988.