Campaign finance requirements for Washington ballot measures

in Washington

Fiscal Budgets Washington state budget and finances Tax policy in Washington Finance Financial regulation in Washington Pensions Public pensions in Washington Pension health in Washington Civil liberties Affirmative action in Washington Campaign finance requirements in Washington Campaign finance requirements for Washington ballot measures Nonprofit regulation in Washington Education Charter schools in Washington Higher education in Washington Public education in Washington School choice in Washington Elections Ballot access Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Washington Ballot access requirements for political parties in Washington Political parties in Washington Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Washington Redistricting in Washington Voting in Washington Energy and Environment Energy policy in Washington Fracking in Washington Oil and gas extraction on federal land in Washington Endangered species in Washington Environmental policy in Washington Healthcare Healthcare policy in Washington Medicaid spending in Washington Effect of the Affordable Care Act in Washington Immigration Immigration in Washington

This article does not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.

Campaign finance for ballot measures
Federal campaign finance laws and regulations
Ballot measures
State campaign finance agencies
State information
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • District of Columbia • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Note: This page is not intended to serve as a manual. Individuals who are interested in establishing a committee to support or oppose a ballot measure should contact their state election agencies for more information about specific filing processes and requirements.

Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Washington 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]

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.

Washington ballot measures[edit]

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 Washington, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred state statutes, initiated state statutes, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, veto referenda and advisory questions.

Organizational requirements[edit]

In Washington, a ballot committee is "organized to support or oppose a particular ballot measure." A ballot committee is a type of political committee. A ballot committee must register with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission "within two weeks of organizing or first expecting to receive or spend funds."^[3]

See form: Political Committee Registration Form

Contribution limits[edit]

According to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "generally, contributions from individuals, corporations, unions and other organizations are permitted." These entities can make unlimited contributions to ballot committees.^[4]

Reporting requirements[edit]

A ballot committee that expects to raise and spend more than $5,000 during the course of an election must adhere to Washington's full reporting requirements (a committee that does not meet this threshold may be eligible to file reports on an attenuated schedule). For all contributions exceeding $25 total, the committee must report the donor's name and address. If an individual contributes more than $100 total to the committee, the committee must also report the donor's employer and occupation. For all expenditures exceeding $50, the committee must report the name and address of the recipient, as well as the purpose and amount of the expenditure.^[3]

Ballot committees that expect to raise and spend more than $5,000 must file campaign finance reports online using the state's e-file system. Reports must be filed according to the following schedule:^[3][4]

1. C-3 Contribution Reports: "Before June 1, political committees fill out a C-3 report for each bank deposit made and file the reports with their C-4 reports. Beginning June 1, each Monday campaigns must report each bank deposit made during the previous seven days. Since contributions must be deposited within five days of receipt, active campaigns will make at least one weekly deposit and, on Mondays, file a C-3 for each deposit."
2. C-4 Summary Reports: "This report, along with its attached schedules, summarizes the campaign's financial activity and shows itemized expenditures. C-4 reports are monthly from January through May if a campaign has over $200 in contribution or expenditure activity during a month. During June through December, C-4 reports are due 21 and 7 days before and on the 10th of the month following the primary and general elections, even if there was little or no activity report."

Year-specific reporting dates[edit]

2021[edit]

The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Washington in 2021.

2016[edit]

The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Washington in 2016.

State agencies[edit]

See also: Campaign finance agencies in Washington

In Washington, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation: the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. The commission sets policy, collects reports, sets penalties, and enforces campaign finance law.

Washington State Public Disclosure Commission

711 Capitol Way #206

PO Box 40908

Olympia, WA 98504-0908

Telephone: (360) 753-1111

Fax: (360) 753-1112

Email: pdc@pdc.wa.gov

Campaign finance legislation[edit]

The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Washington 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.

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Washington campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• Campaign finance requirements in Washington
• Campaign finance agencies in Washington
• List of Washington ballot measures

External links[edit]

Additional reading[edit]

• Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Political Committees: Campaign Disclosure Instructions"

Footnotes[edit]

v • e Campaign finance Overview Federal campaign finance laws and regulations • State-by-state comparison of campaign finance requirements • Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act • Political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns • Federal Election Commission • Public financing of campaigns Campaign finance for candidates Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming Campaign finance for ballot measures Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming Campaign finance agencies Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

	v • e State of Washington Olympia (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy