Campaign finance requirements for Kentucky ballot measures
 in Kentucky |
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Kentucky must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| In Kentucky, groups that advocate for the passage or defeat of a ballot measure are considered political issues committees. Political issues committees can accept unlimited contributions from legal sources. |
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
Kentucky ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.
In Kentucky, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred state statutes and legislatively referred constitutional amendments.
Organizational requirements
Kentucky state law defines a political issues committee as follows:[3]
| “ | A political issues committee is defined as three or more persons joining together to advocate or oppose a constitutional amendment or public question which appears on the ballot if that committee receives or expends money in excess of $1,000.[4] | ” |
| —Kentucky Registry of Election Finance | ||
A political issues committee must register with the Kentucky Registry of Election finance before raising contributions or making expenditures.[5]
See form: Political Committee Registration Form
Contribution limits
According to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "there is no enforceable limit on contributions to political issues committees."[5]
Reporting requirements
Political issues committees in Kentucky that raise or spend, or expect to raise or spend, more than $3,000 in an election are required to file regular campaign finance disclosure reports with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. For each contribution exceeding $100, the committee must report the name, address, occupation and employer of the donor, as well as the amount and date of the contribution. For each expenditure exceeding $25, the committee must report the name, address and occupation of the recipient, as well as the date, amount and purpose of the expenditure.[5][6]
Reports must be filed according to the following schedule:[5]
- 32 days prior to the election
- 15 days prior to the election
- 30 days after the election
According to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "political issues committees that register prior to the year of the election for which the public question or constitutional amendment will appear on the ballot shall have additional reports due on a quarterly basis until the year of the election."[5]
Year-specific reporting dates
2021
The table below lists campaign finance report filing deadlines for political action committees in Kentucky in 2021.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Kentucky, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| 2021 annual report | January 1, 2021 – December 1, 2021 | December 3, 2021 |
| Source: Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Political Issues Committee," accessed July 13, 2021 | ||
2016
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Kentucky in 2016.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Kentucky, 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Report | Filing deadline |
| 32-day pre-primary report | 04/15/2016 |
| 15-day pre-primary report | 05/02/2016 |
| 30-day post-primary report | 06/16/2016 |
| 32-day pre-general report | 10/07/2016 |
| 15-day pre-general report | 10/24/2016 |
| 30-day post-general report | 12/08/2016 |
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Kentucky
In Kentucky, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation: the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. The registry administers and enforces Kentucky's campaign finance laws.[7]
- Kentucky Registry of Election Finance
- 140 Walnut Street
- Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-3240
- Telephone: 502-573-2226
- Fax: 502-573-5622
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Kentucky state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kentucky campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Kentucky
- Campaign finance agencies in Kentucky
- List of Kentucky ballot measures
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Political Issue Committee," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Political Issues Committees: Regulation of Ballot Issue Fundraising and Spending," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Statutes, "Section 121-180," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "What Election Finance Does for You," accessed August 4, 2015
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