Campaign finance requirements in North Dakota
 in North Dakota |
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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 North Dakota, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in North Dakota with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in North Dakota.
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 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 North Dakota as of August 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 (e.g., governor) | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Senate candidate | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| House candidate | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| PAC | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Party committees | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Ballot measures | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Sources: Secretary of State North Dakota, "North Dakota Election Laws," accessed August, 28, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: Chapter 16.1-08.1 of the North Dakota Century Code
For campaign finance disclosure purposes, North Dakota considers a candidate and his or her candidate committee to be one and the same. All candidates and candidate committees for statewide executive or state legislative office must register with the North Dakota Secretary of State. A committee must file registrations within 15 days of first receiving a contribution or making an expenditure. The registration must include the following information:[9][10]
- committee information, including committee name, acronym (if applicable), telephone number, and address
- candidate information, including the name of candidate, party affiliation, office being sought, and the type of office (e.g., statewide or legislative)
- additional information, including the full name of the committee's agent, agent's title, telephone number, and mailing address
Registrations must be signed by the candidate or an agent acting on behalf of the candidate or committee. Registrations must be renewed each year.[10][11]
Candidates and their committees are required to submit regular disclosure reports that include the following information:[12]
- Section A: candidate and committee information
- the name of candidate or committee; office being sought; party affiliation; candidate or candidate committee address, and name and telephone number of person filing the statement
- Section B: Type of report being filed
- pre-primary election, pre-general election, pre-special election, year-end, 48-hour; or amended
- Section C: Cash on hand and contributions
- cash on hand at the beginning of the reporting period
- cash on hand at the end of the reporting period
- total of all contributions received in excess of $200
- for contributions greater than $200 but less than $5,000, the contributor's name and address must be included, as well as the total amount of contributions made and the date of the most recent contribution
- for contributions of $5,000 or more, the contributor's name, address, occupation and employer must be included, as well as the total amount of contributions and date of the most recent contribution
- total of all contributions received of $200 or less
- Section D: Signature of the person completing the statement
A candidate or committee who receives contributions of greater than $500 in the aggregate from any individual in the 39-day period leading up to an election must file a supplemental statement noting the name and address of the contributor and the total amount of the contribution within 48 hours of receiving it.[13]
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to North Dakota's current legislative session.[14]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 36 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- North Dakota Partisan Elections Initiative (1921)
- North Dakota Non-partisan Election Initiative (1921)
- North Dakota Tax Commissioner Election Initiative (1938)
- North Dakota Secret Primary Ballot, Initiative 3 (1962)
- North Dakota Election of County Officers, Constitutional Measure 1 (2002)
- North Dakota Election of County Officials, Measure 2 (1998)
- North Dakota Legislative Assembly Vacancy Filling, Measure 4 (2000)
- North Dakota Filling of Judicial Vacancies, Measure 1 (1998)
- North Dakota Rules for Appointing Supreme Court Justices, Measure 2 (1990)
- North Dakota Federal Funds for Political Purposes Initiative (1936)
- North Dakota State and County Official Term Lengths, Initiative 5 (1964)
- North Dakota Residence Requirements of Electors Referendum (1920)
- North Dakota Electors Residence Requirements Referendum (1922)
- North Dakota Nonpartisan Elections Referendum (1924)
- North Dakota Date of Presidential Primary Election Referendum (1924)
- North Dakota Party Central Committees Referendum (1924)
- North Dakota County Officers to be Elected Referendum, Amendment 1 (1952)
- North Dakota County Official Term Lengths, Initiative 2 (1962)
- North Dakota Repeal Limits on Legislator Elections and Appointments, Referendum 3 (1962)
- North Dakota Repeal Limits on Legislator Elections and Appointments, Referendum 2 (1964)
- North Dakota Voter Pamphlet, Referendum 1 (1964)
- North Dakota New Residents Presidential Voting Referendum, Number 2 (1966)
- North Dakota Judicial Reform Referendum, Number 5 (1968)
- North Dakota Joint Governor and Lieutenant Ballot Referendum, Amendment 1 (1974)
- North Dakota Legislator Qualifications Referendum, Amendment 1 (1976)
- North Dakota Elective Franchise Referendum, Amendment 2 (1978)
- North Dakota Judicial Officers Referendum, Amendment 5 (1980)
- North Dakota Presidential Preference and June Primary Referendum, Measure 7 (1980)
- North Dakota Election Law Revision Referendum, Measure 8 (1980)
- North Dakota Future Governor and Lieutenant Governor Elections Referendum, Measure 4 (1982)
- North Dakota Tax Commissioner on Party Ballot Referendum, Measure 2 (1986)
- North Dakota State Legislative Term Limits and Ballot Instruction Measure, Measure 5 (1996)
- North Dakota Executive Branch Officer Election, Measure 2 (2000)
- North Dakota State Treasurer Not Elected, Measure 3 (2000)
- North Dakota Measure 1, Ethics Commission, Foreign Political Contribution Ban, and Conflicts of Interest Initiative (2018)
- North Dakota Initiated Measure 1, Congressional Age Limits Initiative (June 2024)
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in North Dakota can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
North Dakota County Election Officials
North Dakota Secretary of State, Elections Division
- 600 E. Boulevard Ave., 1st Floor, Dept. 108
- Bismarck, North Dakota 58505-0500
- Phone: 701-328-2900
- Toll free: 800-352-0867
- Fax: 701-328-2992
- Email: soselect@nd.gov
- Website: https://www.sos.nd.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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota
- North Dakota
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
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2013-2015 Campaign Finance and Disclosure Requirements," accessed February 7, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 North Dakota Century Code, "Chapter 16.1-08.1, Section 3.2," accessed February 7, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Political Committee Registration," accessed February 7, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Century Code, "Chapter 16.1-08.1, Section 2," accessed February 7, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Century Code, "Chapter 16.1-08.1, Section 4," accessed February 7, 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.
