Campaign finance requirements in Virginia
 in Virginia |
 |
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 Virginia, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in Virginia with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in Virginia.
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 Virginia 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 (incl. Governor) | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| Senate | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| House | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| PAC | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| Party committees | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| Ballot measures | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| Sources: Virginia Department of Elections, "Summary of Laws and Policies Candidate Campaign Committees," accessed August 13, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: Title 24.2, Chapter 9.3 of the Election Code of Virginia
The candidate must file a Statement of Organization for the purpose of setting up a candidate committee. This form must be filed within 10 days of accepting contributions, spending any funds, paying a filing fee, filing the certificate of candidate qualification, or appointing a campaign treasurer, designation of a campaign committee, or designation of a campaign depository. The form must include the following:[9]
- the full name and residence address of the candidate;
- the full name and mailing address for the campaign committee;
- the full name, residence address, and daytime phone number of the treasurer;
- the office being sought and district, if any, for the office;
- the recognized political party affiliation of the candidate for statewide office or the General Assembly (in the absence of any political party affiliation, independent shall be used);
- the name of the financial institution for his or her campaign depository; and
- such other information as shall be required by the State Board of Elections except that the account number for a designated depository account shall not be required.
The candidate must designate a campaign depository, which must be maintained in a financial institution within Virginia, in an account properly identifying the name of and the existence of the political candidacy.[10]
Campaign treasurer
A candidate must appoint a single campaign treasurer who must be a registered voter in Virginia. Every treasurer so appointed must accept the appointment, in writing on the statement of organization, prior to the filing thereof.[11]
All contributions and expenditures received or made by any candidate, or received or made on his or her behalf or in relation to his or her candidacy by any person, except independent expenditures, must be paid over or delivered to the candidate's treasurer or must be reported to the treasurer. The candidate or his or her treasurer must keep detailed and accurate accounts of all contributions turned over to and expenditures made by the candidate or his or her treasurer on behalf of the candidate or his or her campaign committee, or reported to any candidate or his or her treasurer. This account must set forth the date of the contribution or expenditure, its amount or value, the name and address of the person or committee making the contribution or to whom the expenditure was made, and the object or purpose of the contribution or expenditure.[11]
Large pre-election contributions
Any single contribution of $5,000 or more for a statewide office, $1,000 or more for the General Assembly, or $500 or more for any other office, knowingly received or reported by the candidate or his or her treasurer on behalf of his or her candidacy on and after the 11th day preceding a primary and before the primary date, on and after the 11th day preceding a general election and before the general election date, or on and after the 11th day preceding any other election in which the individual is a candidate and before the election day, must be reported in writing or electronically to the State Board of Elections.[12]
Campaign finance reports
Each campaign finance report must include the following:[13]
- the total number of contributors, each of whom has contributed an aggregate of $100 or less, including cash and in-kind contributions, as of the date of the report, and the total amount of contributions from all such contributors;
- for each contributor who has contributed an aggregate of more than $100, including cash and in-kind contributions, as of the ending date of the report, the campaign committee must itemize each contributor on the report and list the following information:
- the name of the contributor, listed alphabetically;
- the mailing address of the contributor;
- the amount of the contribution;
- the aggregate amount of contributions from the contributor to date;
- the date of the contribution;
- the occupation of the contributor;
- the name of his employer or principal business;
- the city and state where employed or where his business is located; and
- for each such contributor, other than an individual, the principal type of business and place of business of the contributor must be reported (for each such contributor other than an individual, it will be sufficient to list the address of the contributor one time on the report of receipts);
- for each designated contribution received by the campaign committee from a political committee, out-of-state political committee, or federal political action committee, the candidate's campaign committee must list the name of the person who designated the contribution and provide the information required by this subsection.
Campaign finance reports must also include the following information for all expenditures:[13]
- the name and address of the person paid;
- a brief description of the purpose of the expenditure;
- the name of the person contracting for or arranging the expenditure;
- the amount of the expenditure; and
- the date of the expenditure.
Independent expenditures
An independent expenditure is an expenditure made by a candidate campaign committee (i) that is not related to the candidate's own campaign and (ii) that is not made to, controlled by, coordinated with, or made with the authorization of a different candidate, his or her campaign committee, or an agent of that candidate or his or her campaign committee.[14]
An independent expenditure report is required if the campaign committee makes independent expenditures that support, oppose, or benefit a different candidate in excess of $1,000 or more to a candidate for statewide office or in excess of $200 or more to any other candidate in the aggregate during an election cycle.[14]
Independent expenditure reports are due within 24 hours after the committee has made the expenditure or when the advertisement supporting or opposing the candidate is disseminated, whichever is first.[14]
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to Virginia's current legislative session.[15]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Virginia can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Virginia Local Voter Registration Offices
Virginia Department of Elections
- Washington Building
- 1100 Bank Street, First Floor
- Richmond, Virginia 23219
- Phone: 804-864-8901
- Toll free: 800-552-9745
- Fax: 804-371-0194
- Email: info@elections.virginia.gov
- Website: https://www.elections.virginia.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 Virginia 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 Virginia
- Virginia
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
- ↑ Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-947.1," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-947.2," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-947.3," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-947.9," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-947.4," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Virginia Department of Elections, "Summary of Laws and Policies Candidate Campaign Committees," accessed August 13, 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.
