Campaign finance requirements in New Hampshire
 in New Hampshire |
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Federal campaign finance laws and regulations |
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| 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 New Hampshire, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in New Hampshirewith those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in New Hampshire.
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 15 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 enforce their own regulation and reporting requirements. Regulations vary by state, as do 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 New Hampshire as of July 2025. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.
| Individuals | Single candidates committees | PACs | Political party | Super PACs | Corporations | Unions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide Candidate (incl. Governor) | $15,000 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | ||
| Senate | $15,000 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | ||
| House | $15,000 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | ||
| PAC | $30,000 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | ||
| Party committees | $30,000 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | ||
| Ballot measures | $30,000 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $30,000 | $0 | ||
| Limits apply per election cycle. | |||||||||
| Sources: New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Contribution Limits," accessed July 24, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: New Hampshire Revised Statutes, Chapter 664: Political Expenditures and Contributions
Organizational requirements
Any individual who has publicly declared himself or herself a candidate and who seeks votes in an election is legally considered a candidate. At the time a candidate files for office, he or she must designate a person to act as his or her fiscal agent for the primary and/or general election campaign. A candidate may serve as his or her own fiscal agent. The fiscal agent, along with the candidate, must file all required financial disclosure statements.[9]
Any committee organized to support a candidate in any election must be authorized in writing by the candidate or his or her fiscal agent before accepting contributions or making expenditures. The committee must register with New Hampshire Secretary of State no later than 48 hours after first receiving any contribution in excess of $1,000 or before making any expenditure greater than $1,000. The committee must register no later than 14 days after the formation of the committee. The committee must designate a treasurer, who must be a legal resident of the state. A committee's registration is valid from the date of registration until 10 days after the primary or general election, whichever is appropriate (the committee may be terminated sooner than this, but such terminations must be made in writing by the chairman or treasurer of the committee).[10][11]
Reporting requirements
Candidates and candidate committees whose receipts or expenditures exceed $1,000 are required to file a number of regular disclosure statements with the New Hampshire Secretary of State. Generally, each statement requires the following types of information:[12][13][10]
- Receipts
- This includes an itemized listing of each receipt exceeding $50, including the full name and home address of the contributor, the amount of the contribution, date of receipt, and the aggregate total for each election for each contributor of over $200.
- This includes an unitemized listing of all receipts of $50 or less.
- For any contributor whose aggregate contributions for each election exceed $200, the contributor's occupation, official job title, employer, and principal place of business must be included.
- Expenditures
- This includes itemized listing of each expenditure, including the name and city or town of the payee, the date paid, and the election for which the expenditure was made, including the specific nature and amount of each expenditure.
Reports may be filed electronically through the New Hampshire Campaign Finance System.[14]
The statutory reporting schedule for candidates and candidate committees is detailed in the table below (these reports are due for both the primary and general election cycle).[13]
| Due date | Reporting period |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 12 weeks prior to the election | Committee registration or candidate filing through Monday before the statement is due |
| Wednesday 3 weeks prior to the election | Cutoff date for the prior statement through Monday before the statement is due |
| Wednesday immediately prior to the election | Cutoff date for the prior statement through Monday before the statement is due |
If a candidate or committee has any outstanding debt, obligation, or surplus following an election, it must continue to file reports every six months until the obligation is satisfied or the surplus is eliminated.
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to New Hampshire's current legislative session.[15]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 11 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- New Hampshire Modifications Related to Elections Amendment (1976)
- New Hampshire 18 Year Old Voting Age Amendment (1974)
- New Hampshire Remove Provision Disqualifying Women From Voting for State Offices, Question 1 (1958)
- New Hampshire Legislative Representation, Question 5 (1930)
- New Hampshire Legislative Representation, Question 4 (1920)
- New Hampshire Voting Rights for the Convicted, Question 7 (1912)
- New Hampshire Election by Plurality, Question 8 (1912)
- New Hampshire Voters Required to Read and Write English, Question 1 (1903)
- New Hampshire Right to Vote for Untaxed Amendment (1968)
- New Hampshire Right to Vote Amendment (1968)
- New Hampshire Right to Vote Amendment (1921)
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in New Hampshire can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
New Hampshire Town Clerks
Secretary of State, Elections Division
- State House, Room 204
- 107 North Main Street
- Concord, New Hampshire 03301
- Phone: 603-271-3242
- Fax: 603-271-6316
- Email: elections@sos.nh.us
- Website: https://www.sos.nh.gov
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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire
- New Hampshire
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
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Limits on Contributions to Candidates 2023-2024 Election Cycle," accessed May 8, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 664:12," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2026 Receipts and Expenditures," accessed July 24, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 664:3," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 664:7," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 664:6," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ New Hampshire Campaign Finance System, "Home page," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ 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.
