STATE ELECTION ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION

Program Requirements

Program Goals Program Requirements Grant Application and Amounts Expenditures Supplemental Reporting

Affidavit of Intent to Abide or Affidavit of Intent Not to Abide

All statewide office and General Assembly candidates are required to file an affidavit with the Commission, with the exception of candidates who have filed a 1B exemption from forming a candidate committee – they are presumed to be nonparticipating and are not required to file either form. Candidates who elect to participate in the Program (“participating candidates”) must complete the Affidavit of Intent to Abide by Expenditure Limits and Other Program Requirements (SEEC Form CEP 10). Candidates who elect not to participate in the Program (“nonparticipating candidates”) must complete the Affidavit of Intent Not to Abide by Expenditure Limits (SEEC Form CEP 11).

Important Note:A candidate who changes his or her party status after filing an Affidavit of Intent to Abide by Expenditure Limits and Other Program Requirements (SEEC Form CEP 10) because they achieve ballot access by becoming a candidate for a different party than that listed on the original SEEC Form CEP 10 or by petitioning onto the general election ballot will not be eligible to apply for a Program grant. It is therefore strongly recommended that candidates file the SEEC Form CEP 10 AFTER they have achieved ballot status.

The deadline to opt in or out of the Program depends on whether or not a candidate is in a primary. A candidate in a primary who does not join the Program by the primary deadline cannot later join the Program for the general election.

Election Cycle	Filing Deadline for Affidavit
Primary	July 15, 2022 4:00 PM
General Election	September 29, 2022 4:00 PM

Qualifying Threshold -Demonstrating Public Support

To qualify for clean elections financing, candidates must demonstrate they have adequate support from the public. Candidates accomplish this by meeting a threepart “threshold”:

Candidates must raise an aggregate amount of small-dollar monetary contributions from individuals (“qualifying contributions”) between $5 and $290. The threshold amount varies based on the office sought, as set forth in the next chart;

Candidates must receive such contributions from a certain number of individuals residing in the district (“in-district contributions”) where the candidate seeks nomination or election for General Assembly or residing in the state where the candidate seeks nomination or election for statewide office. The threshold number of such individual contributors varies based on the office sought, as set forth in the next chart; and

Candidates must obtain access to the ballot, as discussed below. The method of ballot access is part of the process to measure public support and therefore determines the grant amount of a qualified candidate committee.

Qualifying Contributions

Qualifying contributions are small-dollar monetary contributions from individuals. In-kind contributions, personal funds, and loans do not count as qualifying contributions. All qualifying contributions must be fully disclosed and adequately documented. Principals of current and prospective state contractors, as well as minors under the age of 12, may not make qualifying contributions. Coordinating expenditures with committees or people who are not permissible donors may disqualify a committee from participation in the Program or cause a grant to need to be returned.

Qualification Thresholds for Statewide Offices

Office Sought	Aggregate Contribution Requirement-Individuals Only	Minimum Individual Resident Contributions	Contribution Limits
Governor	$288,800	$259,900	$5 to $290
Lieutenant Governor	$86,600	$78,000	$5 to $290
Secretary of the State	$86,600	$78,000	$5 to $290
State Comptroller	$86,600	$78,000	$5 to $290
State Treasurer	$86,600	$78,000	$5 to $290
Attorney General	$86,600	$78,000	$5 to $290

Qualification Thresholds for General Assembly Offices

Office Sought	Aggregate Contribution Requirement-Individuals Only	Minimum Individual Resident Contributions	Contribution Limits
State Senator	$17,300	300 residents of municipalities included, in whole or in part, in the district	$5 to $290
State Representative	$5,800	150 residents of municipalities included, in whole or in part, in the district	$5 to $290

Important Note: The thresholds listed above are the bare minimum with which committees may apply. All committees are strongly urged to apply with an adequate buffer amount to ensure that they are not subject to multiple continuances before grant monies can be released.

Candidate's Personal Funds

The Program permits participating candidates to provide a limited amount of personal funds to their campaigns. Candidates may only provide such personal funds to their campaigns before applying for an initial grant. The grant will be reduced by the amount of any allowable personal funds provided. Personal funds do not constitute qualifying contributions.

Office Sought	Maximum Allowable Personal Funds
Governor	$20,000
Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Comptroller, State Treasurer, and Attorney General	$10,000
State Senator	$2,000
State Representative	$1,000

Loans to the Candidate Committee

The Program expressly limits the aggregate amount and permissible sources of any loans provided to the candidate committees of candidates intending to participate in the Program. Only financial institutions may provide loans, valued up to an aggregate of $1,000. The $1,000 loan limit applies to candidate committees of candidates seeking any office covered by the Program. Program requirements further provide that any such borrowed funds do not constitute qualifying contributions. The candidate committee of a participating candidate must repay all outstanding loans before applying for a grant from the Citizens’ Election Fund.

No person, political committee, or party committee can endorse or guarantee a loan or aggregate loans exceeding $500, except the candidate. In a general election, a state central committee may endorse or guarantee a loan or aggregate loans from financial institutions up to $1,000.

Ballot Requirement

As noted earlier, in addition to raising the required amount of qualifying contributions, candidates must also qualify for the ballot to be eligible to receive public funds. This ballot requirement applies in any primary, election, or special election. The Office of the Secretary of the State administers the ballot qualification process. For more information, contact the Secretary of the State, Legislative and Election Administration Division at 860-509-6100 (or toll-free at 800-540-3764).