The County Clerk is the chief election official
of the County, supervising all national, state, and local elections
and is responsible for the administration of the Michigan Campaign
Finance Reporting Act.
Regulating
Campaign Practices
Michigan
regulates campaign practices largely through a law passed in
1976 – The Campaign Finance and Reporting Act.
The basic
approach of the act is one of allowing the public to observe
the flow of dollars in and out of political committee treasuries. Different committees that may exist are Candidate, Ballot Question, Political Party, Independent and Political committees.
The main mechanisms are rules that require candidates to have:
A
campaign committee
A
bank account in Michigan
Detailed
records that must be reported during and after a campaign
Such
committees must be established within 10 days after the person
becomes a candidate as the law defines it and then they have
10 days to file the committee. The committee must have a treasurer
but the candidate can be the treasurer of her/his own committee.
This campaign finance information becomes available to the public
and, more important, to the media and political opponents according
to a prescribed schedule.
Filing of pre-election reports are due 11 days
before the election and must include the financial data up to
the 16th day before the election. Post election reports clos 20 days after the election and are due
30 days after the election. An annual statement closes on December 31 and is to be filed by January 31.
Candidate Committees that did not receive or
spend more than $1,000 need not disclose the detailed information
but they must keep track of it even if they filed the reporting waiver. Failure to meet the report
deadlines can result in a penalty of $25.00 per day to a maximum
of $300.00. Other committees have similar fees.
Campaign reports for state offices and judicial positions are
filed with the secretary of state; all other candidate reports
go to the county clerk. However, the act requires the secretary
of state to make copies and send them to the clerks of the counties
in which the various candidates live.
A
campaign committee
