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Campaign finance requirements in Alabama
 in Alabama |
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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 Alabama, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in Alabama with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in Alabama.
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 responsible for administering and enforcing federal campaign election laws. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions and the oversight of the public funding of presidential elections.[2] According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate, and must begin to report their campaign finances, once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in pursuit of his or her campaign. Within 15 days of this benchmark for status as a candidate, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee, to be 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 the committee. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered with the FEC. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.[3]
The rules governing federal election campaigns and contributions have evolved over the past generation as result of a number of Supreme Court decisions. 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, remain constitutional.[5][6] In 2014's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court overturned biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits, and held that individuals may now 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 Alabama as of 2023. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.
| Individuals | Single candidate committees (federal) | Political party | PACs | Super PACs | Corporations | Unions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide Candidate (incl. Governor) | Unlimited | $1,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Senate | Unlimited | $1,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| House | Unlimited | $1,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Political committee | Unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Political party | Unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Ballot measures | Unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Limits apply per year. | |||||||||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State, "Alabama Candidate Filing Guide," accessed July 3, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: Title 17, Chapter 5 of the Code of Alabama
The campaign finance reporting process for candidates seeking state office is outlined below. Candidates seeking federal office must file with the Federal Election Commission. Reporting details for federal candidates are not included in this section.
Definitions
The following is a list of campaign finance terms.[9]
- A candidate is an individual who has either filed the necessary paperwork with the Alabama Secretary of State to qualify as a candidate or else is an individual who has received contributions or made expenditures in excess of $1,000 in an effort to be elected to public office.
- A contribution is a gift, subscription, loan, advance, deposit of money or anything of value, a payment, a forgiveness of a loan, a payment of a third party, payment of compensation for personal services or expenses on behalf of the candidate, or transfer of anything of value made for the purpose of influencing the result of an election. A contract or agreement to do anything included in the above list is also considered a contribution.
- An expenditure is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, transfer, or gift of money or anything of value made for the purpose of influencing the result of an election. A contract or agreement to do anything included in the above list is also considered an expenditure.
Reporting requirements
Before campaign reporting can begin, the following two forms must be filed. All candidates must additionally file all forms and reports as required by the FCPA online reporting system.[10]
- The Appointment of Campaign Committee form must be filed with the Alabama Secretary of State within five days of becoming a candidate. This form organizes a campaign finance committee for the candidate and lists the member who will serve on the committee. A candidate may serve as his or her own campaign finance committee, or he or she may appoint two to five people to serve. A candidate may also appoint a Designated Filing Agent, who will then be authorized to file all reports for the candidate.[10][11]
- A Statements of Economic Interests must be filed with the Alabama Secretary of State within five days of becoming a candidate. This form covers the previous year's finances. If a candidate already has a Statement of Economic Interests on file, he or she does not have to file it a second time.[10][12]
Candidates are are split into two groups: those who have reached the $1,000 threshold and those who have not. Those who have not reached that threshold are not required to file any campaign finance reports until they reach the threshold. Candidates who have exceeded the $1,000 threshold must report all contributions from a single source and all expenditures to a single recipient greater than $100. The required reports are outlined below.[10]
- Annual Reports cover the campaign finances during the year preceding the election. These reports are due no later than January 31 of the succeeding year and are only required from campaign finance committees not already filing monthly reports for a candidate in a current election cycle.[10][13]
- Monthly Reports cover all reportable transactions for each month and are due no later than the second business day of the month following the month covered in the report. The first monthly report must include all unreported activity to date.[10][13]
- Weekly Reports are filed once a week for the four weeks leading up to an election. In regards to these reports, a week is defined as running from Saturday to Friday. The first weekly report must include all reportable transactions that occurred since the most recently filed prior report. These reports are due on the Monday following the Friday covered in the report.[10][13]
- Daily Reports are required from state legislative and state executive candidates whose campaign finance committees receive or spend $5,000 or more on any of the eight days prior to an election. Once that amount is reached, the candidate’s committee is required to file this report every day until the election. These are due each day by 11:59 p.m., including the Saturday and Sunday before the election. The last daily report, if applicable, is due by 12:01 p.m. on the day before the election.[10][13]
- Major Contribution Reports are required if a candidate's campaign finance committee receives a contribution of $20,000 or more that is not already included on a monthly, weekly, or daily report. If it is not included on one of those reports, it must be filed on a Major Contribution Report and is due within two days of receiving the contribution.[10][13]
Duplicate reports are never required. If a candidate’s committee is required to file a daily report, then a weekly report does not have to be filed for the week before the election, and if a candidate’s committee is required to file a weekly report, a monthly report is not required, etc.[10][13]
Contribution limits
In addition to reporting requirements, candidates are subject to the following limitations:
- A candidate may not begin raising funds until 12 months prior to the election in which he or she intends to be on the ballot, except when the Alabama State Legislature is in session. Candidates are, however, always allowed to fundraise within 120 days of a primary, primary run-off or general election, regardless of the state legislature. These restrictions do not apply to loans candidates make to their own committees or to expenditures. A candidate is also allowed to continue spending money when the Alabama State Legislature is in session.[10][14]
- A candidate may only accept contributions for the following purposes:[10][14]
- to influence the outcome of an election
- to pay off a campaign debt
- to pay all expenses associated with an election challenge
- A candidate may spend campaign funds, including excess funds after the election, only for the following purposes:[10][14]
- expenditures of the campaign
- expenditures that are reasonably related to performing the duties of the office held (this does not include living expenses)
- donations to educational, charitable, or other organizations that are exempt from federal taxes
- donations to the State General Fund, the Education Trust Fund, or equivalent county or municipal funds
- inaugural or transitional expenses
- donations to a legislative caucus organization, as long as it does not operate as a political action committee
- legal fees and costs associated with any civil action, criminal prosecution, or investigation related to conduct reasonably related to performing the duties of the office held
- payments to political parties, including qualifying fees, tickets to party functions, party dues, and donations of up to $5,000 to the political party (independent and write-in candidates may pay similar expenses)
- No candidate’s campaign committee can contribute to another candidate’s campaign committee unless the committees support the same candidate. In that case, a transferral of funds is allowed.[10][15]
- State campaign committees cannot accept more than $1,000 in contributions from the campaign committee of a federal candidate.[10][15]
- A candidate has only 120 days after an election to raise funds to pay off campaign debts.[10]
On May 20, 2013, Governor Robert Bentley signed SB 445 into law. The bill eliminated the state's $500 limit per election for direct corporate contributions to candidates. As a result, Alabama now has no limits in place on the size and source of campaign contributions.[16]
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to Alabama's current legislative session.[17]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 8 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- Alabama Utilities in Tuskegee, Amendment 6 (2008)
- Alabama State Senate Elections, Amendment 2 (1932)
- Alabama Primary Election Votes, Amendment 3 (1944)
- Alabama Voter Registration in Madison County (May 1972)
- Alabama Constitutional Change Applying to One County Amendment (1982)
- Alabama Macon County Board of Education Elections, Amendment 3 (2006)
- Alabama Amendment 1, Citizenship Requirement for Voting Measure (2020)
- Alabama Amendment 4, Prohibit Changes to Election Conduct Laws within Six Months of General Elections Amendment (2022)
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Alabama can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Alabama County Boards of Registrars
Alabama Secretary of State, Elections Division
- Physical Address: 600 Dexter Ave, Suite E-208
- Montgomery, Alabama 36130-3008
- Mailing Address: P.O. Box 5616
- Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5616
- Phone: 334-242-7210
- Toll free: 1-800-274-8683
- Fax: 334-242-2444
- Website: https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes
Alabama Ethics Commission
- Physical Address: 100 North Union Street, Suite 104
- Montgomery, Alabama 36104
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 4840
- Montgomery, Alabama 36103-4840
- Phone: 334-242-2997
- Fax: 334-242-0248
- Email: info@ethics.alabama.gov
- Website: https://ethics.alabama.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 Alabama campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
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
- ↑ Justia', "Alabama Code Section 17-5-2," accessed July 6, 2025
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 Alabama Secretary of State, "Alabama Candidate Filing Guide," accessed July 6, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "Alabama Code Section 17-5-4," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Alabama Code, "Section 36-25-15," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Justia, "Alabama Code Section 17-5-8," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Justia, "Alabama Code Section 17-5-7," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Justia, "Alabama Code Section 17-5-15," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Center for Competitive Politics, "2013 State Legislative Trends: Campaign Contribution Limits Increase in Nine States," accessed April 3, 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.
