Campaign finance requirements for Oklahoma ballot measures
 in Oklahoma |
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma, an entity "organized exclusively for the purpose of advocating the approval or defeat of a state question" is considered an unlimited political action committee. Unlimited political action committees are not subject to contribution limits. |
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.
Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred constitutional amendments, legislatively referred state statutes, initiated constitutional amendments, initiated state statutes and veto referenda.
Organizational requirements
In Oklahoma, an entity "organized exclusively for the purpose of advocating the approval or defeat of a state question" is considered an unlimited political action committee. A committee must file a statement of organization within 10 days of receiving contributions or making expenditures exceeding $1,000. This form, accompanied by a $100 filing fee, must be filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The statement of organization must include the following information:[3][4]
- the name of the committee's chair, treasurer and deputy treasurer (a deputy treasurer is optional)
- the name of the committee
- the purpose of the committee
- the "mailing address, residence address, electronic mailing address, telephone numbers and Internet website, if applicable" of the committee and its officers
- the "full name and address of each financial institution in which the [committee] will maintain an account"
See form: Statement of Organization
Contribution limits
According to Oklahoma state law, "any person (except a foreign national), including individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations and labor unions, may make unlimited contributions to unlimited committees."[3][5]
Reporting requirements
Unlimited political action committees in Oklahoma must file regular campaign finance disclosure reports. These reports detail the financial activities of the committee during a given time period. For all contributions exceeding $50 in aggregate, the committee must report the donor's name, address, occupation and employer. For all expenditures exceeding $200 in the aggregate, the committee must report the recipient's name and address. Reports must be filed on a quarterly basis:[3][6]
- The January report covers the period beginning October 1 and ending December 31 of the previous year.
- The April report covers the period beginning January 1 and ending March 31 of the current year.
- The July report covers the period beginning April 1 and ending June 30 of the current year.
- The October report covers the period beginning July 1 and ending September 30 of the current year.
Year-specific reporting dates
2021
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Oklahoma in 2021.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Oklahoma, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Quarterly report | January 1, 2021 – March 31, 2021 | April 30, 2021 |
| Quarterly report | April 1, 2021 – June 30, 2021 | July 31, 2021 |
| Quarterly report | July 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021 | October 31, 2021 |
| Quarterly report | October 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 | January 31, 2022 |
| Source: Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "2021: Unlimited State Question Committees Registration & Reporting," accessed July 14, 2021 | ||
2016
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Oklahoma in 2016.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Oklahoma, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| April quarterly report | January 1 - March 31, 2016 | April 1 - April 30, 2016 |
| July quarterly report | April 1 - June 30, 2016 | July 1 - July 31, 2016 |
| October quarterly report | July 1 - September 30, 2016 | October 31, 2016 |
| January quarterly report | October 1 - December 31, 2016 | January 1 - January 31, 2017 |
| Source: Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "Reporting Calendar," accessed December 9, 2015 | ||
2015
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Oklahoma in 2015.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Oklahoma, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| April quarterly report | January 1 - March 31, 2015 | April 1 - April 30, 2015 |
| July quarterly report | April 1 - June 30, 2015 | July 1 - July 31, 2015 |
| October quarterly report | July 1 - September 30, 2015 | October 31, 2015 |
| January quarterly report | October 1 - December 31, 2015 | January 1 - January 31, 2016 |
| Source: Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "Reporting Calendar," accessed December 9, 2015 | ||
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Oklahoma
In Oklahoma, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation.
- Oklahoma Ethics Commission
- 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., B-5
- Oklahoma City, OK 73105
- Telephone: (405) 521-3451
- Fax: (405) 521-4905
- Email: ethics@ethics.ok.gov
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Oklahoma
- Campaign finance agencies in Oklahoma
- List of Oklahoma ballot measures
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "Guide for Political Action Committees," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ Annotated Ethics Rules, "Rule 2.2," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ Annotated Ethics Rules, "Rule 2.36," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ Annotated Ethics Rules, "Rule 2.105," accessed December 9, 2015
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