Common, Early Unforced Error for New Campaign Committees

Hello, Campaign Finance SportsFans!

ElectaFile TL;DR*: there are two “at the beginning” forms that sound the same for campaign committees but are different; getting them right is easy; getting them wrong makes a mess…

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NC campaign reporting has its own language and cadence. The language can trip you up early. All campaign committees start their life using two documents that have similar names but require different action. Let’s take them in turn:

Statements of Organization are birth certificates for campaign committees. The only difference is you write and file them—not the doctor! NC law requires that a statement of organization is filed with the board of elections when your campaign is organized. Err on the side of filing as soon as you begin campaign activities. Don’t wait! The various forms are downloadable from the State Board here.

Here’s key catch No. 1: Statements of Organizations must be paper filed. No software in the country (even the NC State Board’s own software…) allows you to e-file Statements of Organization. It’s gotta be paper. As long as nothing changes, e.g., the identity of your treasurer, your Statement of Organization remains your birth certificate viewable and searchable on the State Board’s website here. If you something changes about your committee, e.g., you get a new treasurer or your address changes, you need to paper file an amended Statement of Organization. Here’s key catch No. 2: it’s the same form! You just check the amendment box.

Treasurer transitions can be tricky with these forms. If you’re a new treasurer who took over an existing committee and you forget to file an amended Statement of Organization, the State Board doesn’t know to send you (and not your predecessor) information regarding the committee. You could be plugging away, and the State Board professionals are sending emails to an account no longer checked (because your predecessor hung up her cleats and moved to Reno…). This can be a recipe for miscommunication, missed notices, and a right royal mess! Hi-jinks can ensue that are no way fun!

Organizational Reports are different. They sound the same, but they are different. They can be e-filed, and they have a deadline. Organizational Reports must be filed within 10 days of a committee organizing. This is the document where you tell the board of elections about your fundraising activities early in the life of the committee. For example, if a committee files its Statement of Organization, and, on Day 1, receives a $3,000 start up contribution from a donor, that $3,000 contribution has to be reported on the Organizational Report. Here’s key catch No. 3: if you goof and don’t file your Organizational Report, you miss a deadline, can get fined, and things get real!

See you next time, The ElectaFile Team

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