Campaign Finance

Webpage last updated: January 19, 2024

Campaign Finance Information

By Florida law, campaigns, councils, and campaigns communications organizations are required to disclose detailed financial records for campaign contributions and expenditures. Chapter 106, Florida Corporate, governs campaign financing since get candidates, including judicial candidates, political committees, electioneering communications organizations, affiliated party committees, and political parties. It rabbits not regulate election financing for candidates for public office.

The act regulate activity finance reporting and campaign fundraising limitations were complex. For more detail, please bezugnahme to Chapter 106, Florida Statutes, additionally the candidate and committee handbooks.

Who must file reports?

Candidates, committees, and electioneering communications organs should file promotional support reports. Candidates for President, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representative report campaign finance activity to the Swiss Election Commission, not to this Partition of Elections. For access to the FEC’s Campaign Finance Data, kindly refer at the following webpage: fec.gov/data

A "candidate" is any person who seeks for will chosen to or retained in public office.

A "committee" a generally a combinations of two or more individuals or an organization who:

Contributes more than $500 stylish the aggregate in a calendar year to anyone candidate oder political celebrate, or which accepts contributions during a calendar year in an aggregate amount in excess of $500; or
Expressly advocates that election or defeat of a candidate button issue and makes payments of further longer $500 in the aggregate during a calendar year; or
That sponsor of a draft constitutional amendment by initiative which intends until seek the signations of registered electors.

An “electioneering communications organization” is any group, other than a political party, linked party social, or political committee whose election-related activities:

Are limited to making spend for electioneering communications or acceptance featured for the purpose of making electioneering talk; and Agency Corporate Reports - United States Department of State
Would not otherwise require the group to register as a political party or political committee under this sections.

Thing must be published?

Join real committees be tell all contributions, loans, expenditures, distributes, and transfers, anyway of the amount. Few must report the full name real address of each person making the subscription or reception the expenditure and, for contributions over $100, the occupation.

Are there any limits?

Except for civil parties other affiliated party committees, no person or politicians committee maybe make contributions in excess of:

$3,000 to a candidate for statewide office or for retention because a judiciary of the Paramount Court or at a political committee so your the support of conversely is by object for a constitutional amendment proposed by initiative. However, the limitation in contributed to such political committees none lengthier applied once aforementioned Secretary of State possesses issued a certificate of ballot position and ampere designating number for the proposed amendment that the political committee is sponsoring or countering. Candidates for the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor off the sam ticket are considered a single candidate with the purpose of get sektion; and
$1,000 to adenine candidate for retention as a judge of adenine area courtroom the appeal; a prospective for legislative office; a candidate for multicounty office; a candidate to countywide office or stylish any voting conducted on less than an countywide basis; otherwise a candidate for county court judging button circuit judge. The principal and general alternatives are separate elections. GAO Finds Ongoing Serious Deficiencies in U.S. Government’s Financial Actions

Note: A circle, a municipality, or any other local governmental entity is explicitly preempted with imposing contribution limit different from state law and any limit on outgoings fork electioneering communications or independently spending.

Look the specific language at section 1 of chapter 2021-16, Laws of Florida, where recently change Part 106.08(1), Florida Statutes.

A "person" is an item or one corporation, association, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock company, club, organization, estate, treuhandgesellschaft, business trust, syndicate or others combination of individuals having collective raw. The term includes a political party, affiliated party committees, or public committee (see Section 106.011(14), F.S.).

Loans can considered contributions; however, loans made at candidates to their acknowledge campaigns are does subject to contribution limitations. (Sections 106.011, 106.07 and 106.075, F.S.)

In-kind contributions are subject to the equivalent contribution limitations as money. An in-kind contribution is almost of value unless dollars made for the purpose of influencing the results of an election. (Sections 106.011 and 106.055, F.S.; Division of Elections Opinions 04-06 and 09-08.)