Campaign Finance Reporting
All candidates must organize a campaign committee within 10 days of publicly announcing intention to run for office. PACs (political action committees), which support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure, must also submit paperwork organizing their committee.
Campaign reports are filed according to a specific schedule set forth by the North Carolina General Statutes concerning these financial disclosures. The type of reports and the Elections office where reports are filed depends upon the office sought or type of PAC involved. All municipal and county offices file their reports at the County Board of Elections. All offices at the state, judicial or federal levels file their reports with State Board of Elections in Raleigh.
Information on Mandatory Compliance Training may be found on the State Website. (http://www.ncsbe.gov/Campaign-Finance/training)
Campaign Contributions
All candidates and political action committees must document contributions and expenses for the campaign.
Contribution Rules:
- Businesses and Corporations may NOT contribute to a campaign
- Individuals are limited to contributing $5,200 per election per committee
- Contributions over $50 cannot be in cash
- Documentation of a contribution must include the date, the amount, the contributor’s name, mailing address, and occupation (if retired, former occupation)
- Donations of goods or services must be documented as In-Kind Contributions using their fair market value.
- A contribution that is made by the candidate or candidate’s family is subject to the same disclosure as any other contribution received by the candidate.
(The State Board of Elections is required to evaluate the maximum contribution limitation every two years pursuant to 163-278.13 (a1). The maximum contribution limitation as of January 1, 2017 is $5,200 and remains in effect through December 31, 2018.)
The Latest State Campaign Finance Information
Committees that filed over the $1,000 campaign threshold (spending or receiving contributions) must file campaign reports.
Forms must be signed, dated and mailed or hand-delivered to the appropriate elections office (county or state). All municipal and county offices file their reports at the County Board of Elections. All offices at the state, judicial or federal levels file their reports with State Board of Elections in Raleigh.
Blank Reporting Forms are available on the state website
Candidates may close their committee after the election using the Close Committee Form.
Committees that filed over the $1,000 campaign threshold are required to submit an initial 10-day report and additional quarterly reports.
2018 Reporting Schedule
2018 State and County Reporting Schedule | |||
Report Name | Period Start Date | Period End Date | Report Due Date |
First Quarter | 1/1/2018 | 4/21/2018 | 4/30/2018 |
Second Quarter | 4/22/2018 | 6/30/2018 | 7/11/2018 |
Mid-Year Semi Annual* | 1/1/2018 | 6/30/2018 | 7/27/2018 |
Third Quarter Plus | 7/1/2018 | 10/20/2018 | 10/29/2018 |
Fourth Quarter | 10/21/2018 | 12/31/2018 | 1/10/2019 |
Year-End Semi Annual* | 7/1/2018 | 12/31/2018 | 1/25/2019 |
48-Hour Reports
2018 48-Hour Reports | ||
Report Name | 48-Hour Report Period | Report Due Date |
48-Hour Report - Primary | 4/22/2018 – 5/8/2018 | within 48 hours of receipt |
48-Hour Report - General | 10/21/2018 – 11/6/2018 | within 48 hours of receipt |
48 Hour Reports are required to be filed within 48-hours if a contribution of $1,000 or more is received during the 48-Hour Report Period. | ||
For all other election schedules, the calendar is available on the state website.
Campaign Committee Reports filed in Catawba County can be found below (choose the campaign year). To search reports filed at the state level, search State records here.