Campaign finance requirements for Iowa ballot measures
 in Iowa |
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- See also: List of Iowa ballot measures
Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Iowa 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 Iowa, an entity that raises or spends more than $750 to expressly advocate the passage or defeat of a ballot measure is considered a ballot issue political committee. A ballot issue political committee can accept unlimited contributions from legal sources. |
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.
Iowa 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 Iowa, ballot measures come in one form: legislatively referred constitutional amendments.
Organizational requirements
In Iowa, an entity that "accepts contributions in excess of $750 in the aggregate, makes expenditures in excess of $750 in the aggregate, or incurs indebtedness in excess of $750 in the aggregate in any one calendar year ... to expressly advocate the passage or defeat of a ballot issue" is considered a ballot issue political committee. Within 10 days of exceeding one of the aforementioned thresholds, the committee must file a statement of organization with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.[3][4]
See form: Statement of Organization, Form DR-1
Contribution limits
Iowa does not impose contribution limits on political campaigns, including ballot issue committees.[5]
Reporting requirements
Ballot issue committees in Iowa must file regular campaign finance disclosure reports with the Iowa Board of Ethics and Campaign Disclosure. For all contributions exceeding $25 in the aggregate during a calendar year, the committee must report the donor's name and address. For all expenditures, the committee must report the recipient's name and address, as well as the amount, purpose and date of the expenditure. Expenditures of $5 or less "may be shown as miscellaneous disbursements so long as the aggregate miscellaneous disbursements to any one person during a calendar year do not exceed $100."[6]
A ballot issue political committee must file reports according to the following schedule during an election year:
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Iowa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reporting period | Filing deadline | |
| January 1 – May 14 | May 19 | |
| May 15 – July 14 | July 19 | |
| July 15 – October 14 | October 19 | |
| October 15 – December 31 | January 19 (following year) | |
| Source: Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "Ballot Issue PACs," accessed July 11, 2021 | ||
In addition, a ballot issue committee must file "another report five days before an election covering the period from the previous report or date of initial activity through 10 days before the election."[7]
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Iowa
In Iowa, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation: the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. The board administers and enforces Iowa's campaign finance laws.[8]
- Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board
- 510 E. 12th St., Suite 1A
- Telephone: (515) 281-4028
- Fax: (515) 281-4073
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Iowa 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 Iowa campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Iowa
- Campaign finance agencies in Iowa
- List of Iowa ballot measures
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Iowa Statutes, "Section 68A.102," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Statutes, "Section 68A.201," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "Things to Know When Making a Contribution in Iowa," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Statutes, "Section 68A.402A," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Statutes, "Section 68A.402," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "What the Board Does," accessed August 4, 2015
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