Matthew Spencer Petersen (born 1970)[1] is an American attorney who served as a member of the United States Federal Election Commission.

[4][5] He received an associate degree with high honors from Utah Valley State College in 1993, then went on to graduate magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Brigham Young University in 1996.

[6] From 1999 to 2002, he practiced election and campaign finance law at Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C.[7] From 2002 to 2008, Petersen served in senior staff positions in both houses of Congress.

During his tenure, he was involved in crafting the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the House-Senate negotiations that culminated in the bill's ultimate passage.

[17] In the aftermath of that landmark opinion, Petersen and his FEC colleagues developed the legal framework that led to the advent of Super PACs and governed political speech by corporations and labor unions.

[18][19][20] He also helped draft more robust procedural protections for persons and groups involved in enforcement matters, audits, and advisory opinions.

[27] In his resignation letter, Petersen said, "I have faithfully discharged my duty to enforce the law in a manner that respects free speech rights, while also fairly interpreting the relevant statutes and regulations and providing meaningful notice to those subject to FEC jurisdiction.

But as I mentioned in my earlier answer, I believe that the path that I have taken to be one who’s been in a decision-making role in somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 enforcement matters, overseen I don’t know how many cases in federal court the administration has been a party to during my time.

[39] Carrie Campbell Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, defended him in the National Review, saying that his time at the FEC gave him experience in trial-like procedures.