Campaign finance requirements in Georgia

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Georgia campaign finance requirements govern the following:

• how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations,
• how much and how often they must report those contributions, and
• how much individuals, organizations and political parties may contribute to campaigns.

In addition to direct campaign contributions, campaign finance laws also apply to third-party organizations and nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections through independent expenditures or issue advocacy.

As of May 2015, in Georgia, super PACs were prohibited from making contributions to candidates, PACs, party committees, and ballot measures. Individuals, single candidate committees, PACs, political parties, corporations, and unions could make unlimited contributions to PACs, party committees, and ballot measures. Limits applied separately for the primary election and the general election.

Background

Seal of the United States Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign election laws. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions and overseeing public funding of presidential elections. According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate and must begin reporting campaign finances once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in his or her campaign. Within fifteen days of this benchmark, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee, which is responsible for the funds and expenditures of the campaign. This committee must have an official treasurer and cannot support any candidate but the one who registered it. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.

The rules governing federal election campaigns and contributions have evolved over the past generation as result of a number of Supreme Court decisions. In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. The court's decision also overturned the ban on for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and unions broadcasting electioneering communications in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before a general election. In the SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Election Commission decision, the first application of the Citizens United decision, the court held that contribution limits on what individuals could give to independent expenditure-only groups, and the amount these organizations could receive, were unconstitutional. Contribution limits on donations directly to candidates, however, remained unchanged. In 2014's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court overturned biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits, and held that individuals may contribute to as many federal candidates as they want, but may only contribute up to the federal limit in each case.

While the FEC governs federal election campaigns and contribution limits, individual states enforce their own regulation and reporting requirements. Regulations vary by state, as do limits on campaign contributions and third-party activities to influence elections.

Contribution limits

The table below details contribution limits as they applied to various types of individuals and groups in Georgia as of May 2017. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.

Georgia contribution limits as of March 2017
	Individuals	Single candidates committees	Political Committee (PAC)	Political party	Super PACs	Corporations	Unions
Statewide candidate (e.g., governor)	$6,600/$3,900	$6,600/$3,900	$6,600/$3,900	$6,600/$3,900	$0	$6,600/$3,900	$6,600/$3,900
Senate candidate	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400	$0	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400
House candidate	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400	$0	$2,600/$1,400	$2,600/$1,400
PAC	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	$0	unlimited	unlimited
Party committees	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	$0	unlimited	unlimited
Ballot measures	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	$0	unlimited	unlimited
Sources: Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, "Contribution Limits," accessed March 23, 2017 Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Commission, "Campaign Contribution Limits," accessed May 22, 2015. Cobb County Republican Party, "Guidelines to comply with campaign finance regulations by the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Election Commission & State Ethics Commission of Georgia," accessed May 22, 2015

Candidate requirements

Seal of Georgia

See statutes: Title 21, Chapter 5 of the Georgia Code

A candidate seeking state office in Georgia must file with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (Commission). The process of registering and reporting with the commission is outlined below. A candidate seeking federal office must file with the Federal Election Commission. Reporting details for federal candidates are not included in this section.

Getting started

In Georgia, campaign finance reporting can be completed online here. In order to file reports online, the candidate must submit an original Personal Financial Disclosure PIN Application to the commission. Faxed copies of this application will not be accepted.

To begin the campaign finance reporting process, a candidate who is not already holding office must file a Declaration of Intention to Accept Campaign Contributions (Form DOI) with the commission. This form must be filed before any contributions may be accepted. A candidate must also file a current email address with the commission, which must be filed in writing by January 31 of each year. Any change in the address must be reported to the commission within 10 days.

The candidate may choose to form a campaign committee to accept contributions and make expenditures on his or behalf. To do this, he or she must file a Registration Form for a Campaign Committee (Form RC) with the commission. The name and address of the committee, its chairman, treasurer and candidate must be registered with the commission before the committee can accept any contributions. One person may serve as both treasurer and chairman, but if there is a vacancy in either position, no contributions may be accepted until the vacancy is filled. A candidate may have only one committee at a time. When the candidate is elected to office, the campaign committee’s registration will remain in effect until the committee or the candidate cancels it.

Reporting requirements

The candidate must use a bank account separate from his or her personal accounts for any campaign finance transaction. Reporting must begin when one of the following occurs:

• The candidate files a Declaration of Intention to Accept Campaign Contributions.
• The candidate or candidate’s committee accepts a contribution.
• The candidate or candidate’s committee makes an expenditure.
• The candidate formally qualifies.

Candidates are required to file the following reports:

• Personal Financial Disclosure Statement
  • All candidates and public officers running in an election must file a Personal Financial Disclosure Statement covering the previous calendar year. Only one of these forms is due per year. See the table below for information on when this form must be filed.

Type of candidate	When to file
Current officeholder	Between January 1 and July 1 of each year
Candidate for statewide office	No later than 7 days after qualifying
Candidate for office other than statewide office	No later than 15 days after qualifying

• Campaign Contribution Disclosure Statement (Form CCDR)
  • This form reports all expenditures and contributions (including any money or resources a candidate gives to his or her own campaign). All contributions and expenditures greater than $100 must be itemized, as well as any aggregate totals of all contributions and expenditures of $100 or less.
  • During an election year, this form must be filed six times. During a non-election year it is required only twice. In the case of run-off elections or special elections, extra reports must be filed.
  • If a candidate has no opposition in a primary or general election and receives less than $100 in contributions, only the first and last reports need to be filed.
  • There is a five business day grace period for filing these reports before any late fees are charged.
  • If a candidate is unsuccessful in an election, he or she must still file reports for the remainder of an election cycle. If an unsuccessful candidate retains unpaid debts from the campaign, a supplemental Form CCDR must be filed by December 31 each year the debt remains unpaid.
• Two Business Day Report (TBD Form)
  • This form must be filed to disclose contributions (including loans) of $1,000 or more that are accepted between the most recent report and the date of any election in which the candidate is running.
  • These contributions must be reported, either online or by fax, within two business days of receiving the contribution. If reported by fax, the report must also be filed online within five days of sending the fax. These contributions must be included on the next regularly scheduled report, as well.
• Termination Statement
  • A termination statement must be submitted with a final Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report that shows a zero balance. This must be filed within 10 days of the dissolution of a campaign or else the committee must appoint someone who will maintain campaign records until the balance does reach zero.

Campaign finance legislation

The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Georgia 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.

Election and campaign ballot measures

See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of Georgia ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked 39 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.

1. Georgia Poll Tax, Amendment 2 (1932)
2. Georgia Gubernatorial Elections, Amendment 2 (June 1941)
3. Georgia Elections of Officials, Amendment 2 (1950)
4. Georgia Baldwin County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 5 (1950)
5. Georgia Dawson County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 14 (1950)
6. Georgia Hancock County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 31 (1950)
7. Georgia Meriwether County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 32 (1950)
8. Georgia Rockdale County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 35 (1950)
9. Georgia Schley County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 36 (1950)
10. Georgia Taylor County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 37 (1950)
11. Georgia Elections of Officials, Amendment 1 (1952)
12. Georgia Union County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 12 (1952)
13. Georgia Troup County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 13 (1952)
14. Georgia Fannin County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 28 (1952)
15. Georgia Wilcox County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 29 (1952)
16. Georgia Brantley County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 33 (1952)
17. Georgia Carroll County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 34 (1952)
18. Georgia Appling County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 35 (1952)
19. Georgia Floyd County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 42 (1952)
20. Georgia Rockdale County School Superintendent, Amendment 44 (1952)
21. Georgia State Senate Elections, Amendment 1A (1962)
22. Georgia Qualifications of Write-in Candidates, Amendment 10 (1962)
23. Georgia Notice of Write-in Candidates, Amendment 5 (1966)
24. Georgia Voting Requirements, Amendment 8 (1966)
25. Georgia Election of Judges, Amendment 18 (1966)
26. Georgia Election of Solicitors General, Amendment 19 (1966)
27. Georgia Gubernatorial Runoff Elections, Amendment 2 (1968)
28. Georgia State Executive Official Elections, Amendment 5 (1968)
29. Georgia General Assembly Elections, Amendment 12 (1968)
30. Georgia Voting Requirements, Amendment 24 (1972)
31. Georgia Revenue Certificate Elections, Amendment 7 (1974)
32. Georgia Revenue Certificate Elections, Amendment 14 (1976)
33. Georgia Elective Franchise, Amendment 1 (1978)
34. Georgia Notice for Write-in Candidates, Amendment 24 (1978)
35. Georgia Elected Official Vacancies, Amendment 6 (1984)
36. Georgia Boards of Education Elections, Amendment 2 (1992)
37. Georgia Repeal of Local Amendments, Amendment 8 (1992)
38. Georgia Default on Taxes and Public Office, Amendment 1 (2002)
39. Georgia Age Requirements for Voting, Amendment 6 (1943)

Election-related agencies

See also: Campaign finance agencies in Georgia and State election agencies

Candidates running for office may require some form of interaction with the following agencies:

Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division

Why: This agency oversees candidate filing and election procedures.

2 MLK Jr. Dr. S.E.

Suite 802, Floyd West Tower

Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Telephone: 404-656-2871

Fax: 404-651-9531

http://sos.georgia.gov/elections

Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission

Why: This agency oversees campaign finance reporting and compliance with the Campaign Finance Act.

200 Piedmont Avenue

SE Suite 1402, West Tower

Atlanta, GA 30334

Telephone: 404-463-1980

Fax: 404-463-1988

http://ethics.ga.gov/

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Georgia campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Campaign finance requirements in Georgia - Google News

See also

• Campaign finance regulation
• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Georgia
• Georgia