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Campaign finance requirements in Massachusetts
 in Massachusetts |
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Federal campaign finance laws and regulations |
|---|
| Campaign finance reform |
| History of campaign finance reform |
| State by state comparison of campaign finance reporting requirements |
| Election policy |
| State information |
Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates and campaigns may receive from individuals and organizations, how they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political parties may contribute to campaigns. In addition to direct campaign contributions, campaign finance laws also apply to third-party organizations and nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections through independent expenditures or issue advocacy.
This page provides background on campaign finance regulation, lists contribution limits to state candidates and ballot measures in Massachusetts, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in Massachusetts with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in Massachusetts.
The information on this page pertains to candidates for state office and state ballot measures. Candidates for federal office are subject to federal campaign finance law. Candidates for local office are subject to all applicable state laws as well as any separate local campaign finance regulations.[1]
Background
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign election laws. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions and overseeing public funding of presidential elections.[2] According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate and must begin reporting campaign finances once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in his or her campaign. Within fifteen days of this benchmark, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee, which is responsible for the funds and expenditures of the campaign. This committee must have an official treasurer and cannot support any candidate but the one who registered it. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.[3]
The Supreme Court of the United States has issued a number of rulings pertaining to federal election campaign finance regulations. In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. The court's decision also overturned the ban on for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and unions broadcasting electioneering communications in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before a general election.[4] In the SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Election Commission decision, the first application of the Citizens United decision, the court held that contribution limits on what individuals could give to independent expenditure-only groups, and the amount these organizations could receive, were unconstitutional. Contribution limits on donations directly to candidates, however, remained unchanged.[5][6] In 2014's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court overturned biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits, and held that individuals may contribute to as many federal candidates as they want, but may only contribute up to the federal limit in each case.[7]
While the FEC governs federal election campaigns and contribution limits, individual states require their own level of regulation and reporting. The amount of regulation required differs by state, as do the limits on campaign contributions and third-party activities to influence elections. Candidates for local office must follow any applicable state and local campaign finance regulations.
Contribution limits
The table below details contribution limits as they applied to various types of individuals and groups in Massachusetts as of July 2025. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.[8]
| Individuals | Single candidates committees | PACs | People's committee | Political party | Super PACs | Corporations | Unions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide candidate (incl. Governor) | $1,000 | $100 | $500 | $500 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Senate | $1,000 | $100 | $500 | $500 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| House | $1,000 | $100 | $500 | $500 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| PAC | $500 | Unlimited | $500 | $500 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $500 | |
| Party committees | $5,000 | Unlimited | $5,000 | $5,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| People's committee | $210 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Ballot measures | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Limits apply per year. | |||||||||
| Source: Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Annual Campaign Contribution Limits," accessed July 29, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: Massachusetts General Laws, Part I, Title VIII, Chapter 55
A candidate is considered a "depository candidates" because he or she is required by law to designate a financial institution in Massachusetts as a depository for all campaign funds. All receipts must be deposited into this account and all expenditures must be made from it (this includes the candidate's personal funds). In order to designate a financial depository, a candidate and/or committee treasurer must file a CPF D 103 (Appointment of Depository Bank) form. Even a candidate who does not plan to open a bank account because he or she only intends to spend his or her own money must designate a bank by filing this form. The financial institution submits regular reports of all contributions and expenditures to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance using information provided to the bank by the campaign. [10][11][12]
A candidate is not usually legally required to form a committee (public employees who run for elective office must form committees). If the candidate does choose to organize a political committee for campaign purposes, he or she must file a Statement of Organization of a Candidate Committee. A committee can neither accept contributions nor make expenditures until this form is filed. A committee must name a chairman and a treasurer. The same person can often fulfill both of these roles, though a candidate cannot serve as his or her own treasurer and a public employee seeking elective office cannot serve as his or her own treasurer.[12]
A candidate and/or committee treasurer must file an initial campaign finance report (Form CPF D 102) within three business days after designating a depository institution. This report is intended to disclose any activity that may have occurred before the designation of the bank, complete through the date of the bank's designation. A Form CPF D 102 is also used to reveal any outstanding liabilities, in-kind contributions, or savings account information. This form, filed once per year, provides the only disclosure of the candidate's in-kind contributions, liabilities, and savings account information.[10][12]
All contributions must be deposited in the designated institution no later than the end of the seventh day after receipt. In conjunction with the deposit record, the candidate must also electronically file contributor information directly with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (one deposit = one deposit report). This may be done by entering the information directly onto OCPF’s database using an online reporting program. When entering contributor information for e-filing, the name and residential address of the contributor must be included for any receipt in excess of $50. Contributions of $50 or less may be combined in one total. However, any contributor of $50 or less must be itemized if the aggregate of his or her contributions for the calendar year has exceeded $50. At the end of each reporting period, the depository bank electronically files with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance information on each expenditure that cleared the depository account during the period. Financial institutions must submit reports by the 5th of each month for all depository candidates, excluding state senate or house of representatives.[10][12]
A candidate or a treasurer of a candidate's committee for nomination or election to the state senate or house of representatives files reports according to the following schedule.[10][13]
In each odd-numbered year:
- January 20, complete as to December 31 of the previous year
- April 20, complete as to March 31; July 20, complete as to June 30
- October 20, complete as to September 30
In each even-numbered year:
- January 20, complete as to December 31 of the previous year
- April 20, complete as to March 31
- July 20, complete as to June 30
- The eighth day preceding a primary
- The eighth day preceding a biennial state election
Campaigns that receive and deposit contributions of $500 or more after the 18th day but more than 72 hours before an election must disclose those contributions electronically to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance within 72 hours of deposit. All campaign payments in excess of $100 must be made to a named payee by a check or debit card drawn on the candidate’s or committee’s depository account. A check payable to a candidate or treasurer as reimbursement for expenditures may not exceed $100.[10][12]
A candidate or committee that has no cash balance, assets, or outstanding liabilities and wishes to dissolve can do so by filing an application for dissolution. A candidate or committee must continue to report on a regular basis until an application for dissolution is filed. Remaining funds from committee or candidate accounts must be donated to any of the following:[12]
- the state's General Fund
- the general fund of a city or town
- a scholarship fund
- a charitable or religious organization
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to Massachusetts' current legislative session.[14]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 4 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- Massachusetts Question 2, Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2020)
- Massachusetts Question 17, Biennial Elections for State Officers and Legislators Amendment (1918)
- Massachusetts Question 2, Allow Women to Hold Public Office Amendment (1924)
- Massachusetts Question 2, Party Candidate Nominating Conventions Initiative (1932)
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Massachusetts can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Massachusetts Town Clerks
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Elections Division
- One Ashburton Place, Room 1705
- Boston, Massachusetts 02108
- Phone: 617-727-2828
- Toll free: 1-800-462-8683
- Fax: 617-742-3238
- Email: elections@sec.state.ma.us
- Website: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/
State Ethics Commission
- One Ashburton Place, Room 619
- Boston, Massachusetts 02108
- Phone: 617-371-9500
- Fax: 617-723-5851
- Website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/state-ethics-commission
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200
- Washington, DC 20001
- Phone: 301-563-3919
- Toll free: 1-866-747-1471
- Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov
- Website: https://www.eac.gov
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
- 1050 First Street, NE
- Washington, DC 20463
- Telephone: (202)-694-1100
- Toll-free: 1-800-424-9530
- Email: info@fec.gov
- Website: http://www.fec.gov/
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Massachusetts campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance regulation
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Massachusetts
- Massachusetts
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Campaign Finance Enforcement," accessed May 28, 2025
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "About the FEC," accessed June 27, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Candidate Registration Brochure," accessed December 7, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit," January 21, 2010
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Speechnow.org v. FEC," April 7, 2014
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Two Federal Court Rulings Could Change Campaign Finance Landscape," March 26, 2010
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ongoing Litigation," accessed March 18, 2015
- ↑ Vox, "Super PACs can spend unlimited amounts on elections, but must disclose their donors," accessed July 27, 2015
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Limits on Contributions to Candidates 2023-2024 Election Cycle," accessed May 8, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Campaign Finance Guide," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ Massachusetts General Laws, "Part I, Title VIII, Chapter 55, Section 19," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 [https://www.ocpf.us/PublicSearch/ViewDocument?id=3772 GUIDE-48 Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Campaign Finance Guide for Depository Candidates and State Party Committees," accessed July 30, 2025]
- ↑ Massachusetts General Laws, " Part I, Title VIII, Chapter 55," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ Bills are organized by most recent action. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
