Campaign finance requirements in Pennsylvania
 in Pennsylvania |
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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 Pennsylvania, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in Pennsylvania with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in Pennsylvania.
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 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, 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 Pennsylvania as of September 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 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Senate | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| House | 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 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Limits on Contributions to Candidates 2025-2026 Election Cycle," accessed September 3, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
Candidates must file regular campaign finance reports. A candidate may authorize a committee to accept contributions and make expenditures on his or her behalf, but is not required to do so. A candidate is not required to establish a separate financial account for campaign purposes.[9]
If a candidate committee is formed, it must have both a chairperson and treasurer (one person cannot serve both functions). Before a committee can receive contributions on behalf of a candidate, the committee must be authorized to do so in writing by the candidate. This authorization form (provided by the Pennsylvania Secretary of State) must be received by the appropriate elections official (i.e., the Pennsylvania Secretary of State for candidates for state office, including the Pennsylvania General Assembly) before the committee receives contributions. Any committee that receives contributions in aggregate of $250 or more must file a registration statement within 20 days after the date on which the committee receives such amount. Registration statements must include the following information:[9]
- the name, address and phone number of the committee
- the name, address and phone number of the committee's treasurer
- the name, address and phone number of the committee's chairman
- the name, address and relationship of affiliated or connected organizations
- the candidate's name and address
- the banks, safety deposit boxes or other repositories and their addresses used by the committee
- the proposed period of committee operation
If the amount of contributions, expenditures or liabilities exceeds $250 in a reporting period, the candidate or committee must file reports. If not, the candidate or treasurer of the committee must file a statement to that effect in lieu of a report.[9]
On forms prescribed by the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, candidates or committees must include the following in each report:[9]
- the full name, address, and occupation and name of employer for each person who has made one or more contributions to the candidate or committee within the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value greater than $250; the report must also note the amount and date of such contributions
- the full name and mailing address of each person who has made one or more contributions to the candidate or committee within the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value greater than $50; the report must also note the amount and date of such contributions
- the total sum of individual contributions made to the candidate or committee during the reporting period and not otherwise reported
- each expenditure, the date made, the full name and address of the recipient, and the purpose of the expenditure
- any unpaid debts or liabilities, including the nature and amount of each, date incurred, and full name and address of the person owed
- any unexpended balance of contributions or other receipts appearing since the last report filed
Candidates who do form committees are required to file separate reports from those of their campaign committees. All candidates and their authorized committees who are required to file reports with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State must also file copies of those reports with the counties in which they reside.[9]
Generally speaking, the following campaign finance reports must be filed: a 6th Tuesday Pre-Primary Report, a 2nd Friday Pre-Primary Report, a 30-Day Post-Primary Report, a 6th Tuesday Pre-Election Report, a 2nd Friday Pre-Election Report, a 30-Day Post-Election and an Annual Report.[10]
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to Pennsylvania's current legislative session.[11]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 7 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- Pennsylvania Question 3, In-State Address Change and Voting Location Amendment (1959)
- Pennsylvania Question 1, State Senate Elections Following Redistricting Amendment (May 2001)
- Pennsylvania Question 6, Voter Residency Requirements and Absentee Voting Amendment (May 1967)
- Pennsylvania Question 5, Joint Election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor Amendment (May 1967)
- Pennsylvania Appointed Judges and Retention Elections Amendment (May 1969)
- Pennsylvania Question 1, Election of Attorney General Amendment (May 1978)
- Pennsylvania Question 2, State Judicial Vacancies Amendment (May 1978)
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Pennsylvania can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Pennsylvania County Election Officials
Pennsylvania Secretary of State; Bureau of Elections
- North Office Building, Room 210
- 401 North Street
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120-0060
- Toll free: 1-877-868-3772
- Email: ra-votereg@pa.gov
- Website: https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/vote.html
Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission
- Finance Building, Room 309
- 613 North Street
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120-0400
- Phone: 717-783-1610
- Toll free: 800-932-0936
- Fax: 717-787-0806
- Email: https://www.ethicsforms.pa.gov/Forms/ContactUs
- Website: https://www.ethics.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx
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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania
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
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Law," accessed September 3, 2025
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2025 Campaign Finance Reporting Dates," accessed September 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.
