Vermont Secretary of State Releases New Campaign Finance Report after December 15 Filing Deadline

December 24 2024

Montpelier, VT – Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas released the December Vermont 2024 Candidates and Campaign Finance. This report continues the Secretary of State’s ongoing efforts to improve transparency for campaign finance reporting during the 2024 campaign season. This is the final reporting period of the current election cycle and reflects candidate filings as of the filing deadline on December 15.

The report consists of three lists:

1. 2024 candidates who filed a final report for the election cycle;
2. Candidates who filed an under threshold report for the election cycle;
3. Candidates who filed neither a final report nor an under threshold report.

Per state law, candidates who “rolled over any amount of surplus into his or her new campaign or… made expenditures or accepted contributions of $500.00 or more during the two-year general election cycle” (17 V.S.A. § 2964) are required to file “a ‘final report’ that lists a complete accounting of all contributions and expenditures since the last report and liquidation of surplus and that shall constitute the termination of his or her campaign activities” (17 V.S.A. § 2965).

In addition, candidates who were not required to file a final report needed to file an under threshold report ten days following the general election, or November 15 (17 V.S.A. § 2966). In other words, all candidates should have filed either a final report or an under threshold report on or before December 15.

“As I said when we created this new report this past summer, I am committed to providing as much transparency as possible when it comes to campaign finance,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “Issuing this final report of the election cycle enhances that transparency, and we plan to continue this work in the next cycle.”

The new report compares two datasets that are publicly accessible on the Vermont Secretary of State’s website: 1) candidates who filed to run for state office, General Assembly, or county office, and 2) those candidates who filed campaign finance final reports and under threshold reports.

The new report is provided as a snapshot of campaign finance filings as of December 23 at 8 am, after the December 15 filing deadline for final reports and November 15 filing deadline for under threshold reports.

The list of candidates running for office is posted at https://sos.vermont.gov/elections/election-info-resources/candidates/

Relevant campaign finance filings can be found by clicking on ‘Search Filed Reports’ at https://campaignfinance.vermont.gov

The Office of the Attorney General has statutory authority to investigate alleged violations of Vermont's Campaign Finance Laws pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2904. The Office is obligated to report all valid complaints of alleged violations and the investigation outcomes to the State Ethics Commission pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2094a. To report an alleged violation please email AGO.ElectionComplaints@vermont.gov or submit a complaint to the Ethics Commission here. Complaints cannot be submitted anonymously.