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Disclosure
of Electioneering Communications
During
the 4th Special Session of the 2005 West Virginia Legislature, disclosure
requirements for “Electioneering Communications” were established. The
definition for “Electioneering Communication” is established in
WV Code §3-8-1a.
When
must Electioneering Communication reports be filed?
(WV
Code §3-8-2b)
Once a person or group (including but not limited to 527 organizations)
spends more than $5,000 in "purchasing, producing, or disseminating
Electioneering Communications" in a calendar year, a disclosure report must
be filed with the Secretary of State's Office. This report must be filed
within 24 hours of incurring the expense that eclipses the expenditure
threshold of $5,000. A separate report must then be filed each time the
person or group spends over $5,000 since the last report filed within that
calendar year of filing.
Note: From
this point, the term "person" will be defined as "an individual,
partnership, committee, association, and any other organization or group of
individuals," as referenced in
WV Code §3-8-1a.
What
information must be reported?
(WV
Code §3-8-2b)
Contributors
For all contributors who have given more than $1,000 from the first day of
the preceding calendar, the following information must be reported:
• Names and addresses of the contributors
• The value of the contribution and description of the contribution (if it
is not money) must be reported.
• The date that a contributor had given over $250 in contributions to the
person filing the Electioneering Communication report must also be included
for all contributors that have given over $1,000.
• Please
note: Non-federal candidate running for office in West Virginia cannot
accept contributions from an IRS 527 organization.
Expenditures
Expenditures of more than $1,000 must be reported and the information must
include:
• The name of the person making the expenditure, the name of the person
directing control over the person making the expenditure, and the name of
custodian of the books and accounts.
• If the person making the expenditure is not an individual, the principal
place of business of the person making the expenditure.
• The name of the candidate and the elective office referenced by the
Electioneering Communication.
• The amount of the expenditure.
Where
are these reports filed?
(WV Code §3-8-2b, and CSR
§146-5-3)
Electioneering Communication reports must be
received in the
Secretary of State's Office no later than the close of business on the next
regular business day after the "disclosure date." The "disclosure date" is
defined in WV Code §3-8-1a. These reports
may be filed in the Secretary of State's Office in person or filed
electronically by means of fax or email. The date of receipt of the form is
the business day in which it is received. If a form is received after the
close of business, it will be considered as received on the next business
day.
Forms may be
hand delivered
to:
Secretary of State's Office
State Capitol
Building 1, Suite 157-K
1900 Kanawha Blvd., East
Charleston, WV 25305
or
faxed to
1-304-558-8386
or
emailed to
elections@wvsos.com
*All
Electioneering Communication forms must be
RECEIVED
by the close of business to be considered as received on that date.
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