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Campaign finance requirements in Missouri
 in Missouri |
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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 Missouri, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in Missouri with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in Missouri.
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 Missouri 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) | $2,825 | $0 | $2,825 | $2,825 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Senate | $2,400 | $0 | $2,400 | $2,400 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| House | $2,000 | $0 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| PAC | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| Party committees | $27,400 | $0 | $27,400 | $27,400 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Ballot measures | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited | ||
| Sources: Missouri Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance FAQs" accessed July 15, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: Missouri Revised Statutes, "Chapter 130: Campaign Finance Disclosure Law"
General requirements
A candidate for statewide or state legislative office must file a Personal Financial Disclosure statement with the Missouri Ethics Commission no later than 14 days after the closing date of the candidate filing period. Incumbents must report information from January 1 of the previous calendar year to the closing date of the candidate filing period. New candidates must report information for the 12 months prior to the closing date of the candidate filing period.[9]
All candidates and all committees, regardless of their reporting status, must keep accurate and up-to-date records of all financial activities. If a candidate receives total contributions of $500 or less, makes total expenditures of $500 or less, and no single contributor (other than the candidate) contributes more than $325, the candidate may file a Statement of Exemption and Exemption Statement of Limited Activity Reports. A candidate who exceed these thresholds must submit a Statement of Committee Organization, as well as subsequent required disclosure reports.[9]
If a candidate is required to file a Statement of Committee Organization, he or she must do the following:[9]
- identify the committee type (i.e., candidate committee)
- form the committee (e.g., open a committee bank account, appoint a treasurer, etc. -- treasurers must be state residents)
- register the committee (file Statement of Committee Organization within 20 days after the committee is formed and no later than the deadline for filing of the first disclosure report)
- identify the office with which reports must be filed (Missouri Ethics Commission for statewide candidates; Missouri Ethics Commission and local election authority for state legislative candidates)
- file campaign finance reports (all statewide and legislative candidates are required to file reports electronically with the Missouri Ethics Commission via the office's Campaign Finance Reporting System)
Any amendments to committee or financial disclosure information should be made within 20 days of the change prompting the amendment. Before closing, a committee must distribute any remaining funds and dissolve any remaining debt. A committee can be terminated by filing a Committee Termination Statement and Disclosure Report within 10 days of the committee's dissolution.[9]
Reporting requirements
A series of regular disclosure reports are required for both the primary and general election cycles. in these reports, all contributions from committees must be itemized, and contributions from persons giving more than $100 must be itemized (including the name, address, and employer of the contributor, as well as the date, amount, and aggregate total to date of the contributions). All expenditures of over $100 must be itemized (including the name and address of the recipient, as well as the date, purpose, and amount of the payment). Required primary election cycle reports include the following: Personal Financial Disclosure, April Quarterly Report, July Quarterly Report, 8-day Before Report, and a 30-day After Report. Required general election cycle reports include the following: Personal Financial Disclosure, October Quarterly Report 8-day Before Report, and a 30-day After Report.[9][10][11]
In addition to regular disclosure reports, any individual or committee receiving any contributions from any single contributor over $5,000 must electronically report the contribution to the Missouri Ethics Commission within 48 hours of receipt. Any contribution over $250 that is received between the 11th day prior to and the day before the election must be reported within 24 hours of receipt.[9][12]
A committee must continue to file quarterly reports until the committee successfully terminates.[9]
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to Missouri's current legislative session.[13]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 2 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- Missouri Amendment 1, Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative (2018)
- Missouri Amendment 3, Redistricting Process and Criteria, Lobbying, and Campaign Finance Amendment (2020)
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Missouri can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Missouri Election Authority
Secretary of State, Elections Division
- Physical Address: 600 West Main Street
- Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
- Mailing Address: James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
- PO Box 1767
- Jefferson City, MO 65102-1767
- Phone: 573-751-2301
- Toll free: 800-669-8683
- Fax: 573-526-3242
- Email: elections@sos.mo.gov
- Website: https://www.sos.mo.gov
Missouri Ethics Commission
- Physical Address: 3411A Knipp Drive, Suite A
- Jefferson City, Missouri 65109
- Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1370
- Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
- Phone: 573-751-2020
- Toll free: 800-392-8660
- Fax: 573-526-4506
- Email: helpdesk@mec.mo.gov
- Website: http://www.mec.mo.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 Missouri 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 Missouri
- Missouri
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 9.5 9.6 Missouri Ethics Commission, "Guide to Ethics Laws 2025: A Plain English Summary," accessed July 15, 2025
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Reporting Packet," accessed March 11, 2014
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Upcoming Filing Deadlines and Reminders," accessed March 11, 2014
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Reporting Packet," accessed March 11, 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.
