Candidates

Campaign finance law does not require the treasurer to report detailed and exact accounts of contributions of $100 or less. However, internal records must be maintained to identify the sources of contributions as they occur in order to aggregate each individual or group contribution with subsequent contributions by that particular individual or group. If a receipt is designated as "unitemized" it will not print out on the detail report. However, it will be added to the "unitemized" figure on the summary page.​​

Political Advertising is any advertisement advocating the election or defeat of any candidate, political party, or public issue. For example, Political Advertising would NOT include the announcement of a fish fry sponsored by a political organization unless the advertisement stated that the fish fry endorses a candidate.​

For cash receipts, the campaign has a record of the contribution by the name of the contributor, the date and amount of the cash contribution. The maximum cash contribution that an individual may give to a candidate is $100.00 per election. Anonymous receipts are any receipts that the campaign cannot attribute to a specific contributor. For example, if a bucket was set out at a campaign event and individuals put money in the bucket, these receipts would be considered anonymous receipts as there would be no record of the contributor’s name, date and amount of the contribution. The maximum anonymous contribution is $100.00 per individual, per election. A second limitation also applies to anonymous receipts: the campaign may only keep $2,000 in anonymous contributions and anything over $2,000 must be forwarded to the State Treasury.​

Pursuant to KRS 121.190(1), all newspaper or magazine advertising, posters, circulars, billboards, handbills, sample ballots, and paid-for television or radio announcements which expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, slate of candidates, or group of candidates for nomination or election to any public office shall be identified by the words "paid for by" followed by the name and address of the individual or committee which paid for the communication; except that if paid for by a candidate, slate of candidates, or campaign committee, it shall be identified only by the words "paid for by" followed by the name of the candidate, slate of candidates, or campaign committee, whichever is applicable. For television and radio broadcasts, compliance with Federal Communications Commission regulations regarding sponsored programs and broadcasts by candidates for public office shall be considered compliance with this section. NEVER USE “Paid for by Candidate.” This is an inappropriate disclaimer. Examples of Correct Political Advertising Disclaimers: Candidate Joe Smith or someone from the Joe Smith Campaign Committee purchases an advertisement: Paid for by Joe Smith or Paid for by Committee to Elect Joe Smith A group of candidates purchase an advertisement which clearly identifies the office each candidate seeks: Paid for by Joe Smith, Sally Smith, Mary Contrary, James Jones, Billy Jack, Phil Simpson, Polly Carter, and Lilly Adams Each candidate/campaign must write a check directly to the newspaper for his/her portion of the advertising cost. One candidate is NOT allowed to pay the entire advertising cost and later have the other candidates reimburse the candidate. A Franklin County Executive Committee purchases an advertisement: Paid for by Franklin County Democratic Executive Committee 300 Frankfort Avenue Frankfort, KY 40601 Private citizen Jane Smith purchases an advertisement to support a candidate: Paid for by Jane Smith 700 Walnut Street Frankfort, KY 40601 Jane Smith and her two sisters purchase an advertisement to support a candidate: Paid for by Jane Smith; 700 Walnut Street; Frankfort, KY 40601 Mary Smith; 22 Maple Street; Frankfort, KY 40601 Sara Smith; 41 Oak Street; Frankfort, KY 40601

An in-kind contribution is goods, advertising or services furnished to a candidate, slate of candidates or committee without charge or at a rate which is less than the rate normally charged for the goods or services. The campaign is responsible for reporting the in-kind contribution on the election finance statement. An independent expenditure is the expenditure of money or other thing of value to promote a candidate, slate of candidates or committee without the campaign or any authorized person acting on behalf of the campaign having any prior knowledge of the activity. There is no limit on independent expenditures; however, an “Independent Expenditure Report” must be completed and forwarded to the Registry when the aggregate amount of the independent expenditure exceeds $500. The candidates, slate of candidates or committees are not responsible for reporting the independent expenditure on the election finance statement.​

No. The campaign finance laws, as well as the Kentucky Constitution, make no distinction as to specific types of corporate contributions that are prohibited. Therefore, the corporate prohibition of contributions extends to non-profit corporations, professional service corporations (PSCs) or any other type of corporate classification or designation.

No. Candidates and Candidate campaign committees may not accept contributions from LLCs, LLPs, or partnerships.  Under Kentucky’s campaign finance law, “corporation” means any corporation, company, partnership, joint stock company, or association.  Since corporations are prohibited from making contributions directly to candidates, slates of candidates, or committees, a candidate is not permitted to accept contributions directly from an LLC.

No. A contribution on a “sole proprietorship” business check should be reported as a contribution from the individual who is the owner of the business.

Permanent Committees may contribute up to $2,100 to any candidate or slate of candidates per election. This means the Permanent Committee may contribute $2,100 in a primary and, if the candidate or slate wins the primary, the Permanent Committee may contribute $2,100 in the general election.

Yes. When accepting a check for more than the individual contribution limit, you must obtain a written verification from the contributors showing how much each person is contributing individually. A husband and wife may both choose to sign the contribution check before giving it to the campaign.

When making a contribution to candidates, affiliated organizations are considered to be one (1) contributor and they are held jointly to the $2,100 contribution limit. (Example: if a state PAC made a $2,100 contribution to a candidate, the affiliated Federal PAC could not make a contribution to that candidate in that election.)

An in-kind contribution is goods, advertising or services furnished by a PAC without charge or at a rate which is less than the rate normally charged for the goods or services. The campaign is responsible for reporting in-kind contributions on its election finance statement. An independent expenditure is the expenditure of money or other thing of value to promote a candidate, slate of candidates or committee without the campaign or any authorized person acting on behalf of the campaign having any prior knowledge of the activity. There is no limit on independent expenditures; however, an “Independent Expenditure Report” must be completed and forwarded to the Registry when the aggregate amount of the independent expenditure exceeds $500. The candidates, slate of candidates or committee are not responsible for reporting the independent expenditure on the election finance statement.

A candidate’s spouse may contribute the same contribution amount as any other contributor, which is $2,100 per person per election.

This question falls under the jurisdiction of the Legislative Ethics Commission. You should contact them directly.  Go to https://klec.ky.gov/ for additional information.

No, but the cost may be reportable by a candidate. The Registry’s jurisdiction under KRS Chapter 121 extends to candidates, committees, and persons expressly advocating the election or defeat of clearly identified candidates in Kentucky state and local races, and to committees advocating for or against issues appearing on a ballot. The Registry has no authority to regulate public opinion polls, so long as those polls do not expressly gauge support for candidates (such as “who would you vote for . . .” or “who would you support . . .” ). However, the poll results may be reportable as an in-kind contribution to a candidate, if later used by a candidate in his or her campaign, and would be subject to contribution limits in this circumstance.

No. While KRS Chapter 121 does not prohibit or otherwise address the solicitation of a contribution from a judge or judicial candidate, Rule 4.4 from the Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct requires all candidates seeking judicial office who intend to raise campaign funds for that purpose establish a candidate campaign committee.

No. The United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United did not affect the prohibition on corporate contributions to candidates found in Section 150 of the Kentucky Constitution. See also KRS 121.025 and KRS 121.150(18). However, corporations may now make unlimited independent expenditures - which are by definition expenditures not coordinated with a candidate or candidate campaign committee. See KREF Advisory Opinions 2010-001, 2010-002, and 2011-002.

This is allowed. It is recommended that you use a credit card which is used solely for the campaign. When you report the disbursement on your election finance statement, list the name of the company where the credit card purchase was made instead of the name of the credit card company itself.

Yes, per KRS 121.180(10), candidates may retain campaign funds to seek election to the same office. Where redistricting legislation results in the renumbering of legislative districts, the Registry has consistently interpreted KRS 121.180(10) to allow a candidate affected by state legislative redistricting to retain campaign funds to run for the same office in his or her newly designated district. See KREF Advisory Opinion 2002-001.

No, KRS 121.175(1) provides that “(n)o candidate shall permit funds in a campaign account to be expended for any purpose other than for allowable campaign expenditures.” Expenditures from a campaign fund must be directly and primarily related to a candidate’s candidacy. See 32 KAR 2:200. In the absence of facts directly related to the elected official’s candidacy, personal defense of a claim regarding his or her alleged ethics violation does not appear to be directly and primarily related to the candidate’s candidacy and therefore is not a permitted expenditure from a campaign account.

As a rule, you should use the day you first spend or receive funds in hopes of nomination or election to office as the starting date of your first financial report.  The ending date should be the last day of the reporting period, after which you have five days to submit your report to the Registry.  The next report you file should start with the day after the last period end date.  For example, if your first report is from 01/01/2018 to 04/22/2018, your next report would be from 04/23/2018 to 05/07/2018.  Your reporting dates should NOT overlap or leave gaps.

Yes. A candidate’s election finance reporting is determined by the amount of funds the campaign selects to spend. If you do not choose a reporting exemption, this indicates your intention to raise and spend more than $5,000. You will be required to file a 60-day pre-election finance statement (general election only), a 30-day pre-election finance statement, a 15-day pre-election finance statement and a 30-day post election finance statement unless you rescind the request for spending option within fifteen (15) days following the filing deadline. If you request a reporting exemption and choose the spending option to “raise and spend $5,000 or less,” you will be exempt from filing election finance statements.

Since all reporting requirements are based on the amount you selected to raise or spend when you first filed for office, you will need to file the required statements regardless of the amount spent. Candidates opting to spend more than $5,000 are required to file election finance statements sixty (60) (general election only), thirty (30), and fifteen (15) days before the election and thirty (30) days after the election. Candidates opting to spend $5,000 or less are not required to file an election finance statement.

Any candidate may change his or her spending option up to 30 days prior to a primary election and up to 60 days prior to a general election. A candidate who exceeds his or her chosen spending option will be fined five hundred dollars ($500).

No. The spending option you chose when you filed for office establishes the number of election finance statements you will need to file for the election. There is a limited exception if the opponent is replaced due to a withdrawal because of death, disability or disqualification.

Yes. The campaign finance laws allow candidates who find they have opposition from a write-in candidate to amend their spending options.

Yes. If you were required to submit your filing papers by the January filing deadline, you are considered by the Registry to be part of the primary election process. The number of reports due is based on the Exemption Request the campaign filed for that election. An unopposed candidate (one whose name does not appear on the primary ballot) may accept contributions and make expenditures just like any other candidate.

Yes, depending on the spending option selected. When a candidate is unopposed in the primary election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. Campaign finance statutes set forth reporting requirements based on your spending option without regard to the candidate having or not having opposition. An unopposed candidate may accept contributions for the election the same as a candidate with opposition.

Yes. The campaign finance statute requires candidates to maintain the campaign records for a period of six (6) years from the date of the last report filed with the Registry. Regardless of the spending option you chose for your campaign, you can still be audited by the Registry.

All funds given to the campaign are to be reported as contributions, including the candidate’s own money. The candidate may loan funds to the campaign in hopes of receiving contributions to repay all or a portion of the funds; or, the candidate may wish to donate the funds to the campaign as a candidate contribution.

No.  Election finance statements no longer have to be filed with the county clerk.  They only need to be filed with the Registry.

The filing fee may be reimbursed to the candidate from the campaign bank account. The reimbursement should be shown as a disbursement on Schedule 2 of the election finance statements. Some individuals, however, believe they were not a candidate for office until after the fee was paid. Therefore, they do not include the fee as an expense of the campaign. Either of these options is acceptable.

No. The campaign finance laws only require the name of the candidate or the candidate’s committee to be listed in the disclaimer. (Ex.: “Paid for by Joe Candidate” OR “Paid for by Committee to Elect Joe Candidate”).

Yes. Newspaper ads require a disclaimer regardless of the size of the advertisement. The campaign finance statute specifically states that “ALL newspaper or magazine advertising, posters, circulars, billboards, handbills, sample ballots and paid-for television or radio announcements…” are required to have the appropriate disclaimer. However, campaign finance laws state that a disclaimer is not required for “calling cards” smaller than 3 ½ x 5 inches.

All newspaper or magazine advertising, posters, circulars, billboards, handbills, sample ballots which expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, slate of candidates, or group of candidates for nomination or election to any public office shall be identified by the words “paid for by” followed by the name of the candidate, slate of candidates, or campaign committee, whichever is applicable. “Paid for by the candidate” is not in compliance and should not be used.

All newspaper or magazine advertising, posters, circulars, billboards, handbills, sample ballots which expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, slate of candidates, or group of candidates for nomination or election to any public office shall be identified by the words “paid for by” followed by the name and address of the individual or committee which paid for the communication.

Compliance with FCC regulations regarding sponsored programs and broadcasts by candidates for public office shall be considered compliance with Kentucky law.

The Registry has exempted some items from the disclaimer requirement. For example, balloons, emery boards, bumper stickers, matchbook covers, pencils, shirts and caps do not require disclaimers. Any calling card smaller than 3 ½ x 5 inches is also exempted. Please see 32 KAR 2:110 for additional items which may be exempted. Multiple page mailings will be considered in substantial compliance if at least one page of the mailing includes a disclaimer. Envelopes stamped with a return address which includes the name of the candidate or campaign committee indicating that the candidate is seeking election to public office must have the disclaimer unless at least one piece of the envelope’s contents includes a disclaimer.

You may amend your Statement of Spending Intent by logging into the Registry's electronic filing system and making your changes.

Yes. Contact the Internal Revenue Service for instruction. When a candidate sets up a campaign fund or campaign committee, per Internal Revenue Service regulations, it is generally treated as a separate taxable entity (even if it is just a bank account). As such, the Internal Revenue Service will require the account to be established under a separate employer identification number (EIN), even if it does not have employees. A campaign fund established under the social security number of an individual (such as the candidate or treasurer) runs the risk of having the income from the campaign attributed to that individual by the IRS. Regarding a candidate’s responsibilities under the Internal Revenue Code, the Registry advises candidates that all questions about the registration, disclosure and annual tax reporting requirements of the IRS should be directed to IRS Customer Service at 1-877-829-5500, and the caller should request assistance from an Exempt Organizations Specialist. You may also find additional information at the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/charities/political/. See also Candidate Guide to Campaign Finance (Revised 08/2011), p. 50. Banking regulations may also require an EIN for a campaign bank account, but these rules also fall outside the jurisdiction of the Registry.

Receipts from the proceeds of sales are considered contributions. The entire purchase price is a contribution to the campaign. Your campaign will need to keep records of the monetary contributions from individuals as well as the contributions from sales to individuals. The individual’s total contribution cannot exceed $2,100 per election. When reporting the contributions from a fundraising event, you will report a summary of the event on Events Schedule 3 to the election finance statement form. You will also report each receipt on Schedule 1A or the Summary Page of the reporting form. You need to have a system in place to identify who made the purchases and/or made additional contributions at this event. Either have the contributors fill out a sign-in card indicating what they have contributed or have a volunteer obtain this information from the contributors at the event. It is important that you know who has contributed. If the contributions are reported as anonymous contributions, any amount over $2,000 must be forwarded to the State Treasury.

No. The use of “raffles” to collect campaign contributions is not directly addressed by Kentucky’s campaign finance law. However, a “raffle” is defined by KRS Chapter 238 as a form of “charitable gaming” under the jurisdiction of the Department of Charitable Gaming. Under current Kentucky law, charitable gaming can only be conducted to benefit common schools or organizations that qualify as charitable organizations under the Internal Revenue Code. Political campaigns and committees are not charitable organizations under the Internal Revenue Code. Instead they are political organizations exempt from taxation under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. For these reasons, a campaign or committee acts in violation of Kentucky law by holding a “raffle” to collect campaign contributions. A “raffle” is distinguishable from a “door prize” in that a person must pay for the chance to win an item in a “raffle”, as opposed to anyone in attendance at an event having the opportunity to win a “door prize”. You may call the Department of Charitable Gaming at (502) 573-5528 for further information.

No. The funds in your campaign account are to be used to support your nomination and election to the office for which the funds were raised. You cannot use campaign funds for a personal benefit or to privately benefit others.

The Registry assigns a number to a candidate when the candidate informs the Registry of his or her intent to run for office for the first time. This number will not change for the life of the candidate regardless of the office sought or election.

The Registry assigns a number to a candidate for each election. This number will be assigned each time the candidate notifies the Registry of his or her intent to run for office. (The Primary and General are separate elections.)