Campaign finance requirements for Michigan ballot measures
 in Michigan |
Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Michigan 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.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| In Michigan, entities that receive contributions or make expenditures on behalf of a ballot measure are considered ballot question committees. These committees can accept unlimited contributions from any legal source. |
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.
Michigan 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 Michigan, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred state statutes, initiated state statutes, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, initiated constitutional amendments, veto referenda and automatic ballot referrals.
Organizational requirements
In Michigan, entities that receive contributions or make expenditures on behalf of a ballot measure are considered ballot question committees. A ballot question committee must file a statement of organization within 10 days of receiving contributions or making expenditures totaling $500. If the committee is supporting a statewide ballot measure, it must file the statement of organization with the Bureau of Elections.[3]
See form: Statement of Organization Form for Ballot Question Committees
Contribution limits
According to the Michigan Bureau of Elections, ballot question committees "may receive unlimited contribution amounts from a legal source."[3]
Reporting requirements
Ballot question committees must file a series of regular campaign statements. These statements "itemize the committee's contributions, other receipts, expenditures and debts." For all contributions, regardless of the amount, the committee must report the amount and date of the contribution, as well as the name and address of the donor. For all expenditures exceeding $50, the committee must report the amount, purpose, date and recipient. The table below lists the statutory campaign statement filing schedule for ballot question committees.[3][4]
| Statutory filing schedule for ballot question committees | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type of report | Closing date of report | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election campaign statement | 16 days before election | 11 days before election |
| Post-election campaign statement | 20 days after election | 30 days after election |
| Annual campaign statement | December 31 | January 31 |
| February quarterly campaign statement | February 10 | February 15 |
| April quarterly campaign statement | April 20 | April 25 |
| July quarterly campaign statement | July 20 | July 25 |
| October quarterly campaign statement (odd years only) | October 20 | October 25 |
| Petition proposal campaign statement | 28 days after filing | 35 days after filing |
| Source: Michigan Electronic Reporting and Tracking System, "Ballot Question Manual," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
Year-specific reporting dates
2021
The tables below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Michigan in 2021. These calendars apply to all ballot question committees that will support or oppose a measure that will appear on an election ballot in 2021. The subsequent tables detail election-specific filing deadlines. For example, a ballot question committee that supports a ballot measure slated to appear on the August 3, 2021 ballot would need to adhere to the filing dates listed in the first table below as well as the dates listed in the table entitled, "Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, August 3, 2021."
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Annual statement | December 31, 2020 | February 1, 2021 |
| Source: Michigan Bureau of Elections, "Campaign Statement Due Dates," accessed July 12, 2021 | ||
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, May 4, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election report | April 18, 2021 | April 23, 2021 |
| Post-election report | May 24, 2021 | June 3, 2021 |
| Source: Michigan Bureau of Elections, "Campaign Statement Due Dates," accessed July 12, 2021 | ||
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, August 3, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election report | July 18, 2021 | July 23, 2021 |
| Post-election report | August 23, 2021 | September 2, 2021 |
| Source: Michigan Bureau of Elections, "Campaign Statement Due Dates," accessed July 12, 2021 | ||
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, November 2, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election report | October 17, 2021 | October 22, 2021 |
| Post-election report | November 22, 2021 | December 2, 2021 |
| Source: Michigan Bureau of Elections, "Campaign Statement Due Dates," accessed July 12, 2021 | ||
2016
The tables below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Michigan in 2016. The first calendar applies broadly to all ballot question committees that will support or oppose a measure that will appear on an election ballot in 2016. The subsequent tables detail election-specific filing deadlines. For example, a ballot question committee that supports a ballot measure slated to appear on the March 8, 2016, ballot would need to adhere to the filing dates listed in the first table below as well as the dates listed in the table entitled, "Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, March 8, 2016."
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Annual statement | December 31, 2015 | February 1, 2016 |
| February statement | February 10, 2016 | February 16, 2016 |
| April statement | April 20, 2016 | April 25, 2016 |
| July statement | July 20, 2016 | July 25, 2016 |
| Source: Michigan Department of State, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, March 8, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election report | February 21, 2016 | February 26, 2016 |
| Post-election report | March 28, 2016 | April 7, 2016 |
| Source: Michigan Department of State, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, May 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election report | April 17, 2016 | April 22, 2016 |
| Post-election report | May 23, 2016 | June 2, 2016 |
| Source: Michigan Department of State, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, August 2, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election report | July 17, 2016 | July 22, 2016 |
| Post-election report | August 22, 2016 | September 1, 2016 |
| Source: Michigan Department of State, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Michigan, November 8, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Close of reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-election report | October 23, 2016 | October 28, 2016 |
| Post-election report | November 28, 2016 | December 8, 2016 |
| Source: Michigan Department of State, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Michigan
In Michigan, there are two primary agencies involved in campaign finance regulation: the Michigan Secretary of State and the Michigan Attorney General. The former oversees campaign finance reporting processes and handles the investigation and penalization of civil violations. The latter prosecutes criminal violations of Michigan's campaign finance laws.[5]
- Michigan Secretary of State
- Michigan Department of State
- Lansing, Michigan 48918
- Telephone: 888-767-6424
- Michigan Attorney General
- 525 W. Ottawa St.
- Lansing, Michigan 48909
- Telephone: 517-373-1110
- Email: miag@michigan.gov
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Michigan 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 Michigan campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Michigan
- Campaign finance agencies in Michigan
- List of Michigan ballot measures
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Michigan Electronic Reporting and Tracking System, "Ballot Question Manual," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Campaign Finance Act, "Section 169.234," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Section 169.215," accessed August 10, 2015
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