Campaign finance requirements for Wisconsin ballot measures
 in Wisconsin |
Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Wisconsin must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
Wisconsin ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues, or tax proposals.
In Wisconsin, ballot measures come in two forms: legislatively referred constitutional amendments and Wisconsin referenda.
Organizational requirements
In Wisconsin, all groups advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot question are considered referendum groups. Before a group accepts contributions or makes expenditures exceeding $2,500, the group must file a campaign registration statement with the Government Accountability Board. This form is considered to be an official statement of organization.[1][2]
A referendum group may disband if the group expects no more financial obligations, no further contributions or expenditures, and has a cash balance of zero at the time of dissolution. The termination statement is filed with the Government Accountability Board for statewide ballot measure groups; local ballot measure groups file termination statements with the applicable county clerk. The statement must show a balance of zero at the end of the reporting period and must indicate how surplus funds will be disbursed. Surplus funds may be used for any political purpose allowed by law, returned to the donors in the amount not exceeding their original contribution, donated to a charitable organization, or to the Wisconsin Common School Fund.[3]
See form: Registration Statement
Contribution limits
Wisconsin has no campaign contribution limit for referendum groups. Cash contributions are limited to $50. Labor unions and corporations may donate to referendum groups. Corporations registered with the Government Accountability Board must have a separate bank account for contributions made to referendum groups.[4][5][6]
Reporting requirements
Wisconsin has an inverted reporting cycle. There is a different reporting cycle for spring and fall elections, as Wisconsin allows statewide and local ballot measures on both the April and November ballots. All referendum groups must file campaign finance reports if they experience $1,000 or more in financial activity in a given year. Referendum groups must file a report with the Government Accountability Board within 24 hours of receiving a contribution of $500 or more for contributions made in the last 15 days before the date of an election. For contributions exceeding $20, the name and address of the contributor must be reported. For contributions exceeding $100, the occupation and employer of the donor must also be disclosed. For expenditures exceeding $20, the name and address of the recipient must be reported, as well as the date and purpose of the expenditure.[7][8][9]
Year-specific reporting dates
2021
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Wisconsin in 2021.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Wisconsin, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| January continuing report | July 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020 | January 7, 2021 |
| Spring pre-primary report | January 1, 2021 – February 1, 2021 | February 8, 2021 |
| Spring pre-election report | February 2, 2021 – March 22, 2021 | March 29, 2021 |
| July continuing report | March 23, 2021 – June 30, 2021 | July 15, 2021 |
| January, 2022 continuing report | July 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 | January 18, 2022 |
| Source: State of Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance: Filing Calendar," accessed July 14, 2021 | ||
2016
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Wisconsin in 2016.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Wisconsin, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Spring pre-primary | January 1, 2016-February 1, 2016 | February 8, 2016 |
| Spring pre-election | February 2, 2016 or last report-March 21, 2016 | March 28, 2016 |
| July continuing | January 1,2016-June 30, 2016 or March 22, 2016-June 30, 2016 | July 20, 2016 |
| Fall pre-primary | July 1, 2016-July 25, 2016 | August 1, 2016 |
| Fall pre-election | July 26, 2016-October 24, 2016 | October 31, 2016 |
| January continuing | October 25 or last report-December 21, 2016 | January 31, 2017 |
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2016-2018 Campaign Finance Report Dates," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
2015
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Wisconsin in 2015.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Wisconsin, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Spring pre-primary | January 1, 2015-February 2, 2015 | February 8, 2015 |
| Spring pre-election | February 3, 2015-March 23, 2015 | March 30, 2015 |
| July continuing | January 1, 2015 or March 24, 2015-June 30, 2015 | July 20, 2015 |
| January continuing | July 1, 2015-December 31, 2015 | February 1, 2016 |
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2013-2015 Campaign Finance Report Dates," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation.
Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
- 212 East Washington Avenue, Third Floor
- Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7984
- Telephone: (608) 266-8005
- Fax: (608) 267-0500
- Email: gab@wi.gov
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Wisconsin state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wisconsin campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Wisconsin
- Campaign finance agencies in Wisconsin
- List of Wisconsin ballot measures
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.05(2)," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.23(1)," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.19(1)," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.26," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.23(1)," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.16(2)," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.05," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.12," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "11.06," accessed December 14, 2015
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