Campaign finance requirements for Wyoming ballot measures
 in Wyoming |
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Wyoming 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]
| Under Wyoming state law, "any group of two or more persons organized and associated ... for support of or opposition to any initiative or referendum petition drive, or for the adoption or defeat of any ballot proposition" is considered a political action committee. Political action committees involved in ballot measure campaigns are generally 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.
Wyoming 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 Wyoming, ballot measures come in the following forms: initiated state statutes, legislatively referred constitutional amendments and veto referenda.
Organizational requirements
Under Wyoming state law, "any group of two or more persons organized and associated ... for support of or opposition to any initiative or referendum petition drive, or for the adoption or defeat of any ballot proposition" is considered a political action committee. The committee must file a statement of formation within 10 days of forming. For committees supporting or opposing statewide ballot measures, the form must be filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State. The form must include the following information:[3][4]
- the name and address of the committee
- the names and addresses of the committee's chair and treasurer
- the date the committee formed
- the committee's purpose
See form: Wyoming's Campaign Finance Information System
Contribution limits
In Wyoming, an individual, political party committee, political action committee, corporation, union, partnership or other organization may make unlimited contributions to a political action committee involved in a ballot measure campaign.[5]
Reporting requirements
In Wyoming, a political action committee involved in a ballot measure campaign must "file an itemized statement of contributions at least seven days before the election current to any day from the eighth day up to the fourteenth day before the election and shall also file a statement of contributions and expenditures within 10 days after a primary, general or special election." According to state law, for all contributions equaling $25 or more, the committee must report the name of the donor and the date of the contribution. For all expenditures, regardless of amount, the committee must report the name of the recipient and the purpose of the expenditure.[6]
A committee that was "formed for the support of or opposition to any initiative or referendum petition drive" must file an additional report "within 10 days after the petition is submitted to the secretary of state." Also, such a committee must file a statement with the secretary of state at least 30 days but no more than 45 days before the election. This statement must indicate the total amount spent to circulate the petition, the number of persons paid to circulate the petition, and the period during which the petition was circulated.[6]
Year-specific reporting dates
2022
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Wyoming in 2022.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Wyoming, 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Filing deadline | |
| Non-election year report | December 31, 2021 | |
| Primary report | August 9, 2022 | |
| General report | November 1, 2022 | |
| Source: Wyoming Secretary of State, "Wyoming's Campaign Finance Information System," accessed July 14, 2021 | ||
2016
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Wyoming in 2016.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Wyoming, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Filing deadline | |
| Pre-primary report | August 9, 2016 | |
| Post-primary report | August 26, 2016 | |
| Ballot initiative report | October 10, 2016 | |
| Pre-general report | November 1, 2016 | |
| Post-general report | November 18, 2016 | |
| Source: Wyoming Secretary of State, "2016 Wyoming Election Calendar," accessed December 9, 2015 | ||
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Wyoming
In Wyoming, there are two primary agencies involved in campaign finance regulation: the Wyoming Secretary of State, Elections Division, and the Wyoming Attorney General. The former oversees campaign finance reporting, and the latter enforces campaign finance law.
- Wyoming Secretary of State
- State Capitol Building
- 200 West 24th Street
- Cheyenne, WY 82002-0020
- Telephone: (307) 777-5860
- Fax: (307) 777-7640
- Email: elections@wyo.gov
- Wyoming Attorney General
- State Capitol Building, Room 123
- 200 W. 24th Street
- Cheyenne, WY 82002
- Telephone: (307) 777-7841
- Fax: (307) 777-6869
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Wyoming 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 Wyoming campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Wyoming
- Campaign finance agencies in Wyoming
- List of Wyoming 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
- ↑ Wyoming Election Code, "Section 22-1-102," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ Wyoming Election Code, "Section 22-25-101," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "Wyoming Campaign Contribution Limits for 2015-2016," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wyoming Election Code, "Section 22-25-106," accessed December 9, 2015
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