Attorney General cracks down on campaign finance
The New Hampshire Attorney General reviewed all of the 142 campaign finance reports from June and found fault in 73 of them.
NH law requires detailed campaign finance reports
Generally speaking, New Hampshire candidates and campaign committees must report donations and expenditures once they exceed $500 in total. New Hampshire law requires those reports to include detailed information, such as the name and address of each donor over $25.
New Hampshire law includes a fine for anyone who violates campaign finance reporting requirements. However, in the past the Attorney General has not reviewed every report, so fines were few and far between.
Following the June 20 reports, the Attorney General sent a letter to the 73 filers with errors, warning them that future errors could result in fines or other prosecution. Even Gov. Chris Sununu's campaign got a warning letter for failing to include the addresses of some donors.
Citizens Count will update all of our 2018 candidate pages with campaign finance data as the information becomes available.
Independent expenditures, handwritten reports hurt transparency
New Hampshire reporting requirements also apply to any organization that spends on advertisements related to the 2018 elections, including PACs (Political Action Committees). There is no limit on these "independent expenditures," but you can view their reports on the Secretary of State's website. That website allows voters to search reports from each candidate and organization.
Learn more about the role of independent expenditures in elections
However, New Hampshire's campaign finance website has been criticized for being difficult to search. For example, many handwritten reports are scanned in, without a way for users to search their text.
Do you have an opinion on New Hampshire's campaign finance law? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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