Campaign Finance
Campaign Finance is an integral part of a County Board of Election's office. Our office addresses many questions surrounding campaign finance such as:
- How and when to form a political committee so as to be compliant with the reporting schedule
- Filing Campaign Finance Reports and getting the right forms
- Filing Campaign Finance complaints and how they are investigated
The NC State Board of Elections has created an email contact for public use and it is monitored by campaign finance staff several times a day. Questions and concerns are routed to the best qualified persons to address the subject matter. Contact the campaign finance division at the NC State Board of Elections at campaign.reporting@ncmail.net
In the State of North Carolina, a person seeking to run for office whether it be statewide, legislative, judicial, county or municipal has to form a committee. A committee may consist of one person (only being the candidate) or others, such as candidate and treasurer. Effective October 1, 2006 - NCGS 163-278.7(f) requires every treasurer of a political committee to participate in training as to the duties of the office within three months of appointment and at least once every four years thereafter. The State Board of Elections shall provide the training as to the office in person, through regional seminars, and through interactive electronic means. The treasurer may designate an assistant treasurer to participate in the training, if one is named under subdivision (b)(8) of this section. The treasurer may choose to participate in training prior to each election in which the political committee is involved. All such training shall be free of charge to the treasurer and assistant treasurer.
Click here (you must click on Campaign Finance once the window opens) to view the treasurer's training schedule on the NC State Board of Elections website.
After you have decided you are a candidate for office and you know who your treasurer will be you need to organize your committee. Organizing your committee with our office consists of completing four forms. They are:
- Statement of Organization (CRO-2100A)
- Certification of Treasurer (CRO-3100)
- Certification of Financial Account Number(CRO-3500)
- Certification of Threshold (CRO-3600)
PER THE NC CAMPAIGN FINANCE MANUAL - EVERY CANDIDATE MUST COMPLETE THESE FORMS WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS OF RECEIVING OR SPENDING ANY MONEY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR CANDIDACY OR WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS OF FILING FOR OFFICE, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST! Click here to view or print a copy of the campaign finance manual.
Just a word about the $3000 threshold. Candidates/treasurers are responsible for maintaining all records even though they are not subject to reporting while under the threshold. If a candidates exceeds the threshold, they must immediately notify the appropiate Board of Election's office so to become subject to the reporting schedule.
The county Board of Elections office is responsible for notifying county and municipal candidates of the reporting schedules. Our office sends out notices explaining the reporting period and giving the due date for the type of report being requested.
All forms needed to comprise a report can be found at the North Carolina State Board of Elections website for Campaign Finance by clicking here. For every report submitted, a committee must submit at least the following forms:
- Disclosure Report Cover (CRO-1000)
- Detailed Summary (CRO-1100)
- All fields used in the Detailed Summary report page must have an appropiate CRO form accompany the report.
It is important for all to remember that campaign finance reports are public record and quite often are viewed by the public. Our office as well as the NC State Board of Elections campaign finance office receives many inquiries and requests for investigations into campaign finance issues. The County Boards of Election do not possess the authority to investigate campaign finance complaints nor does there exist a formal complaint form for a campaign finance complaint to be issued. If a voter has a non-frivilous campaign finance complaint it should be hand written and submitted to the the County Board of Elections so it may be forwarded to the NC State Board of Elections for investigation.