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Campaign finance requirements in Georgia
 in Georgia |
 |
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 Georgia, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in Georgia with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in Georgia.
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 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 Georgia as of July 2025. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.[8]
| Individuals | Political Committee (PAC) | Political party | Super PACs | Corporations | Unions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide candidate (e.g., governor) | $8,400 | $8,400 | $8,400 | $0 | $8,400 | $8,400 | |||
| Senate candidate | $3,300 | $3,300 | $3,300 | $0 | $3,300 | $3,300 | |||
| House candidate | $3,300 | $3,300 | $3,300 | $0 | $3,300 | $3,300 | |||
| PAC | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | |||
| Party committees | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | |||
| Ballot measures | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | |||
| Limits apply per election cycle. | |||||||||
| Source: State Ethics Commission, "Contribution Limits," accessed July 13, 2025 | |||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: Title 21, Chapter 5 of the Georgia Code
A candidate seeking state office in Georgia must file with the State Ethics Commission. The process of registering and reporting with the commission is outlined below. A candidate seeking federal office must file with the Federal Election Commission. Reporting details for federal candidates are not included in this section.
Getting started
In Georgia, campaign finance reporting can be completed online here.
To begin the campaign finance reporting process, a candidate must electronically file a Declaration of Intention to Accept Campaign Contributions (Form DOI) with the commission. This form must be filed before any contributions may be accepted.[10][11]
The candidate may choose to form a campaign committee to accept contributions and make expenditures on his or behalf. To do this, he or she must file a Registration Form for a Campaign Committee (Form RC) with the commission. The name and address of the committee, its chairperson, treasurer and candidate must be registered with the commission before the committee can accept any contributions. One person may serve as both treasurer and chairperson, but if there is a vacancy in either position, no contributions may be accepted until the vacancy is filled. A candidate may have only one committee at a time.[10][11]
Reporting requirements
The candidate must use a bank account separate from his or her personal accounts for any campaign finance transaction. Reporting must begin when one of the following occurs:[12]
- The candidate files a Declaration of Intention to Accept Campaign Contributions.
- The candidate or candidate’s committee accepts a contribution.
- The candidate or candidate’s committee makes an expenditure.
Candidates are required to file the following reports:[13]
- Personal Financial Disclosure Statement
- All candidates and public officers running in an election must file a Personal Financial Disclosure Statement covering the previous calendar year. Only one of these forms is due per year. See the table below for information on when this form must be filed.
| Type of candidate | When to file |
|---|---|
| Current officeholder | Between January 1 and July 1 of each year |
| Candidate for statewide office | No later than 7 days after qualifying |
| Candidate for office other than statewide office | No later than 15 days after qualifying |
- Campaign Contribution Disclosure Statement (Form CCDR)
- This form reports all expenditures and contributions. All contributions and expenditures greater than $100 must be itemized, as well as any aggregate totals of all contributions and expenditures of $100 or less.[14]
- During an election year, this form must be filed six times. During a non-election year it is required only twice. In the case of run-off elections or special elections, extra reports must be filed.[12]
- If a candidate has no opposition in a primary or general election and receives less than $100 in contributions, only the first and last reports need to be filed.[12]
- There is a five business day grace period for filing these reports before any late fees are charged.[12]
- If a candidate is unsuccessful in an election, he or she must still file reports for the remainder of an election cycle. If an unsuccessful candidate retains unpaid debts from the campaign, a supplemental Form CCDR must be filed by December 31 each year the debt remains unpaid.[12]
- Two Business Day Report (TBD Form)
- This form must be filed to disclose contributions (including loans) of $1,000 or more that are accepted between the last required report and the date of any election in which the candidate is running.[12]
- These contributions must be reported online within two business days of receiving the contribution. These contributions must be included on the next regularly scheduled report, as well.[12]
- Termination Statement
- A termination statement must be submitted with a final Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report. It must identify the person responsible for maintaining campaign records and must be filed within 10 days of the dissolution of a campaign.[12]
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to Georgia's current legislative session.[15]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Contact information
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Georgia can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Georgia County Election Offices
Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division
- 2 MLK Jr. Drive
- Suite 802 Floyd West Tower
- Atlanta, Georgia 30334
- Phone: 404-656-2871
- Fax: 404-463-5231
- Email: https://sos.ga.gov/form/contact-us
- Website: https://sos.ga.gov/elections-division-georgia-secretary-states-office
Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission
- 200 Piedmont Avenue SE
- Suite 1416 West Tower
- Atlanta, Georgia 30334
- Phone: 404-463-1980
- Fax: 404-463-1988
- Email: gaethics@ethics.ga.gov
- Website: http://ethics.ga.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 Georgia 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
- ↑ Vox, "Super PACs can spend unlimited amounts on elections, but must disclose their donors," accessed May 21, 2015
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Limits on Contributions to Candidates 2023-2024 Election Cycle," accessed May 8, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 State Ethics Commission, "Candidate Information: State Level," accessed July 13, 2025
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 State Ethics Commission, "Candidate Information: Statewide," accessed July 13, 2025
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Justia, "Georgia Code § 21-5-34 (2024)," accessed July 13, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "Georgia Code § 21-5-50," accessed July 13, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "Georgia Code § 21-5-3," accessed July 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.
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