Vermont Secretary of State Releases New Campaign Finance Report in Wake of October 1 Filing Deadline

October 08 2024

Montpelier, VT – Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas released the first October 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. The October report reflects candidate filings as of the most recent filing deadline on October 1.

The report consists of three lists:

• 2024 candidates who filed an October 1 period disclosure statement with funds raised and/or spent during the current period (since the September 1 deadline),
• Candidates who filed an October 1 “No Activity Report,”
• Candidates who did not file an October 1 period report.

Per state law, candidates are only required to file a campaign finance report if they “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). As such, Secretary Copeland Hanzas noted that appearing on the third list (candidates that did not file a report) does not mean a candidate was required to file a Campaign Finance disclosure.

“As I said when we created this new report in July, I am committed to providing as much transparency as possible when it comes to campaign finance,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “Issuing this October report enhances that transparency, and we will continue to issue a report for each filing period going forward.”

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

The new report is provided as a snapshot of campaign finance filings as of October 8 at 8am, after the October 1 filing deadline. The Secretary of State’s Office plans to provide new reports for each reporting cycle after future deadlines (October 15, November 1, November 19, and December 15).

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.