Campaign finance agencies in Florida
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In Florida, there are two primary agencies involved in campaign finance regulation: the Florida Secretary of State and the Florida Elections Commission. The former oversees reporting processes for state-level candidates and political committees. The latter enforces the state's campaign finance law and imposes civil penalties against individuals or committees who violate the law.[1][2]
- See also: Campaign finance requirements in Florida
Florida Secretary of State
- See also: Florida Secretary of State
Authority
The Florida Secretary of State serves as the state's chief elections official. The Florida Division of Elections, an agency of the state department, comprises three bureaus: the Bureau of Election Records, the Bureau of Voter Registration Services, and the Bureau of Voting Systems Certification. The Bureau of Election Records "handles candidate and political committee filings, including campaign finance and qualifying papers."[3]
Organization
The table below lists key administrative staff as of July 2015.
| Florida Department of State, Division of Elections—administrative staff as of July 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Phone number | Email address |
| Ken Detzner | Secretary of State | 850-245-6524 | [email protected] |
| Jennifer Kennedy | Assistant Secretary of State / Chief of Staff | 850-245-6502 | [email protected] |
| John Boynton | Deputy Secretary, Administrative Services, Corporations and Elections | 850-245-6524 | [email protected] |
| Maria Matthews | Division Director, Elections | 850-245-6520 | [email protected] |
| Source: Florida Department of State, "Office of the Secretary," accessed July 23, 2015 | |||
Electronic reporting system
- See also: Campaign finance requirements in Florida
Candidates and political committees must file campaign finance disclosure reports through the state's Electronic Filing System, which is administered by the Division of Elections. The filing system can be accessed here. The Division of Elections provides a searchable database of campaign finance information for the public. This database can be accessed here.[4][5]
Florida Elections Commission
Authority
The Florida Elections Commission is authorized to enforce the state's campaign finance law. The commission can investigate alleged violations of the law. In the event that the commission determines a violation has occurred, the commission can assess penalties of up to $1,000 per count.[2][6]
Organization
The commission comprises nine members, each of whom is appointed by the governor. The governor selects appointees from lists of candidates provided by the president of the Florida State Senate, the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and the minority leaders of both chambers. Commissioners serve four-year terms and may serve no more than two full terms. No more than five commissioners may belong to the same political party. The table below lists the commissioners as of July 2015.[2]
| Florida Elections Commission—members as of July 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Term expiration | |
| Scott Thomas | Chairman | January 5, 2019 | |
| Sean Hall | Commissioner | December 31, 2015 | |
| Barbra Stern | Commissioner | December 31, 2015 | |
| Alia Faraj-Johnson | Commissioner | December 31, 2015 | |
| Brian Seymour | Commissioner | December 31, 2016 | |
| Patricia Hollarn | Commissioner | December 31, 2016 | |
| Note: As of July 2015, there appeared to be three vacancies on the commission. Source: Florida Elections Commission, "Meet Our Commissioners," accessed July 29, 2015 | |||
For administrative purposes, the commission is organized within the Department of Legal Affairs, a division of the Office of the Florida Attorney General. The commission is "not subject to the control, supervision, or direction of the Department of Legal Affairs or the attorney general in the performance of its duties." The commission appoints an executive director to oversee day-to-day commission operations.[2]
Contact information
Florida Department of State, Division of Elections
- Room 316, R. A. Gray Building
- 500 South Bronough Street
- Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
- Telephone: 850-245-6200
- Email: [email protected]
Florida Elections Commission
- 107 West Gaines Street
- Collins Building, Suite 224
- Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050
- Telephone: (850) 922-4539
- Fax: (850) 921-0783
- Email: [mailto: [email protected] [email protected]]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Campaign finance Florida. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Florida Division of Elections
- Florida Division of Elections, "Electronic Filing System"
- Florida Division of Elections, "Search Candidate and Committee Databases"
- Florida Elections Commission
Footnotes
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Campaign Finance," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Florida Elections Commission, "About Our Agency," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "About Us," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Search Candidate and Committee Databases," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Electronic Filing System," accessed July 23, 2015
- ↑ The 2015 Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 265," accessed July 29, 2015
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