Maine Regulations § 270-3-2 PROCEDURES FOR PARTICIPATION

Regulation Text

1. Declaration of Intent . A participating candidate must file a Declaration of Intent within five days of collecting qualifying contributions. The Commission will provide a form for this purpose.

2. Content . The Declaration of Intent must include the following information:

A. an affirmation that the candidate is seeking certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate;

B. an affirmation that the candidate understands that any qualifying contributions collected more than five days before filing the Declaration of Intent will not be counted toward the eligibility requirement;

C. an affirmation that the candidate has not accepted any contributions, except for seed money contributions, after becoming a candidate;

D. an affirmation that the candidate has disposed of any campaign surplus before becoming a candidate for the new election, as required by paragraph 3 (D) [Campaign Surplus] of this section;

E. an affirmation that if the candidate has any campaign deficit, that the candidate will not accept contributions to repay that deficit as a participating candidate or certified candidate, except that the candidate may forgive any campaign loans to himself or herself made during any previous campaigns;

F. an affirmation that the candidate will continue to comply with applicable seed money restrictions and other requirements of the Act including, but not limited to, procedures for collecting qualifying contributions;

G. an affirmation that the candidate has read and will comply with the Commission's guidelines on permissible expenditures; and

H. authorization by the candidate for the Commission, its agents or representatives to conduct financial audits of the candidate's campaign financial records and account(s).

3. Seed Money Restrictions

A. General . After becoming a candidate and before certification, a participating candidate may collect and spend only seed money contributions. The restrictions on seed money contributions apply to both cash and in-kind contributions.

B. Total Amount

(1) A participating candidate must limit the candidate's total seed money contributions to the following amounts:

(a) two hundred thousand dollars for a gubernatorial candidate;

(b) three thousand dollars for a candidate for the State Senate; or

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a candidate may carry forward to a new candidacy of that candidate campaign equipment or property, subject to the reporting requirements of Title 21-A, chapter 13 [Campaign Reports and Finances].

(3) The Commission periodically will review these limitations and, through rulemaking, revise these amounts to ensure effective implementation of the Act.

C. Required seed money for gubernatorial candidates. [Repealed.]

D. Campaign surplus . A candidate who has carried forward campaign surplus according to Title 21-A, chapter 13, subchapter II [§ 1017 (8) and § 1017 (9) ], and who intends to become a participating candidate, must dispose of campaign surplus in accordance with the requirements of Title 21-A, chapter 13, subchapter II [§ 1017 (8) ] ; provided, however, that a candidate may carry forward only those portions of campaign surplus that comply with the provisions of this Act regarding seed money contributions [§§ 1122 (9) and 1125 (2) ] . Any campaign surplus (excluding campaign equipment or property) carried forward under this provision will be counted toward that candidate's total seed money limit.

INFORMATIONAL NOTE: The Commission will provide educational materials to all former candidates who have a campaign surplus describing the requirement that individuals must dispose of campaign surplus to remain eligible for participation as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate.

E. Return of Contributions Not in Compliance with Seed Money Restrictions . A participating candidate who receives a contribution exceeding the seed money per donor restriction or the total amount restriction must immediately return the contribution and may not cash, deposit, or otherwise use the contribution.

F. Case-by-Case Exception . A participating candidate who has accepted contributions or made expenditures that do not comply with seed money restrictions may petition the Commission to remain eligible for certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate. The Commission may approve the petition and restore a candidate's eligibility for certification if the candidate successfully establishes all of the following criteria:

(1) the failure to comply was the result of an unintentional error;

(2) the candidate immediately returned all contributions that did not comply with seed money restrictions or paid for goods or services contributed that did not comply with seed money restrictions;

(3) the candidate petitioned the Commission promptly upon becoming aware of the unintentional error; and

(4) the failure to comply did not involve expenditures by the participating candidate significantly in excess of seed money total amount restrictions or otherwise constitute systematic or significant infractions of seed money restrictions.

G. Loans during qualifying period. After becoming a candidate and prior to certification, accepting a loan from any source including a financial institution and spending money received in the form of a loan, are violations of the seed money restrictions of the Act.

H. Seed money donors. A seed money contributor may also make a qualifying contribution to the same candidate provided that the contributor otherwise meets the requirements for making a qualifying contribution.

I. Personal funds to open bank account. A candidate may deposit personal funds of the candidate in a campaign account in order to meet the opening deposit requirements of the financial institution. If a financial institution requires a minimum balance to keep an account open or to avoid fees, the candidate may maintain personal funds in the account for that sole purpose at the minimum amount necessary to satisfy the terms of the financial institution. These funds will not be considered an in-kind contribution to the candidate's campaign or commingling of personal and campaign funds, provided that the candidate does not spend these funds for purposes of promoting the candidate's nomination or election.

4. Qualifying Contributions

A. General . A candidate may collect qualifying contributions only during the relevant qualifying period for certification and the relevant period for additional qualifying contributions [§§ 1122 (8) and 1125 (8-E)]. Qualifying contributions collected more than five days before filing a Declaration of Intent with the Commission will not be counted for any purpose. Qualifying contributions must be acknowledged by the person making the contribution and reported on forms provided by the Commission.

The forms must include:

(1) the name, residential address and signature of the contributor;

(2) an affirmation by the contributor that the contribution was made with his or her personal funds, in support of the candidate and that the contributor did not receive anything of value in exchange for his or her signature and contribution;

(3) a clear and conspicuous statement that the candidate is collecting signatures and qualifying contributions in order to obtain public funding to finance the candidate's campaign;

(4) a confirmation that the contributor is a registered voter indicated by the signature of the municipal registrar or his or her designee or by the Commission's online qualifying contribution service; and

(5) an affirmation by the person who circulated the form that the circulator collected the contribution, that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief the contribution came from the personal funds of the contributor, that nothing was provided to the contributor in exchange for the contribution, and any additional information required by the Commission in order to protect the reliability of the qualification process. Contributions made through the Commission's online qualifying contribution service do not require a circulator's affirmation.

B. Required Number of Qualifying Contributions . A participating candidate must obtain the number of qualifying contributions for certification during the qualifying period as required by the Act [§ 1122 (7) ; § 1122 (8) ; & § 1125 (3) ] .

C. Exchanges for Qualifying Contributions Prohibited

(1) A candidate or an agent of that candidate may not give or offer to give a payment, gift, or anything of value in exchange for a qualifying contribution.

(2) This provision does not prohibit a candidate or that candidate's agent from collecting qualifying contributions at events where food or beverages are served, or where campaign promotional materials are distributed, provided that the food, beverage, and campaign materials are offered to all persons attending the event regardless of whether or not particular persons make a qualifying contribution to the candidate.

(3) This provision does not prohibit a candidate from using seed money to pay the fee for a money order provided the qualifying contributor pays the $5 amount reflected on the money order as permitted by 21-A M.R.S.A. § 1125 (3) .

D. Checks Drawn on Business Accounts . Qualifying contributions must be made with the personal funds of the contributor. The Commission will not count a check drawn from an account with a business name toward the eligibility requirements, unless the name of the contributor is included in the name of the account or the candidate submits a written statement from the contributor indicating that he or she uses the business account for personal expenses.

E. Family Members . Family members, domestic partners, and live-in caregivers who reside in a single household may make qualifying contributions in the form of a single check or money order of more than $5 provided that:

(1) all contributors sign the receipt and acknowledgement form;

(2) all contributors are registered to vote at the address of the household; and

(3) all contributions are made with the personal funds of the contributors.

For a qualifying contribution to be considered valid, the contributor must affirm that the contribution was made with his or her personal funds, in support of the candidate and that the contributor did not receive anything of value in exchange for his or her signature and contribution. The affirmation may not be made by a family member, domestic partner or live-in caregiver of the contributor, unless the contributor is unable to sign the form due to a physical impairment or disability.

F. Verification of Registered Voters

(1) A candidate must obtain verification that contributors who made qualifying contributions to that candidate are registered voters, in accordance with written procedures established by the Commission.

(2) For qualifying contributions made by check or by money order, a candidate must obtain written verification from the Registrar(s) of Voters, or verify the contributor's voter registration using the Commission's online qualifying contribution service, as specified in the Commission's written procedures.

(3) For qualifying contributions made by credit or debit card using the Commission's online service, if the service is unable to verify the voter registration of the contributor, the candidate must obtain written verification from the Registrar.

(4) Upon request of a candidate, and within 10 business days after the date of the request, the Registrar must verify the names of contributors of qualifying contributions who are registered voters within the electoral division for the office the candidate is seeking.

G. Timing of Verification . For purposes of this chapter, the Commission will deem verification of registered voters by the Registrar at any time during the qualifying period for certification or the relevant period for additional qualifying contributions [§§ 1122 (8) and 1125 (8-E)] to be an accurate verification of voter registration even if the registration status of a particular voter may have changed at the time the Commission determines certification of the participating candidate or before the additional qualifying contribution is submitted to the Commission. Proof of voter verification submitted after the qualifying period for certification will not be accepted by the Commission and those qualifying contributions will not be counted toward the number required for certification.

H. Online Qualifying Contribution Service. The Commission may establish an online service for members of the public to make qualifying contributions in support of candidates seeking Maine Clean Election Act funding and for candidates to use to verify voter registration and submit contributor lists.

(1) To make an online qualifying contribution, the contributor must use the Commission's procedures to affirm that the contributor made a contribution from their personal funds in support of the candidate and that the contributor did not receive anything of value in exchange for his or her contribution. The affirmation and the payment must be made and submitted by the contributor and not by any other person. Assistance may be provided to a contributor in using the online service, as long as the assistance is provided in person and the contributor personally makes the affirmation and submits the online payment. A candidate and any person collecting qualifying contributions on behalf of a candidate may not collect the required information from the contributor by phone or any means other than in-person contact, and enter it into the online service on behalf of the contributor.

(2) In order to facilitate efficient administration of the Act and the prompt payment of public campaign funding to eligible candidates, the Commission may develop an alternative method for candidates to verify the voter registration of contributors by using the Commission's online qualifying contribution service. The Commission may establish procedures for candidates to use the Commission's online service to verify voter registration and to submit lists of individuals making qualifying contributions as required in Section (3)(1)(B).

I. Fraudulent qualifying contributions. If the Commission staff reasonably believes that fraudulent qualifying contributions have been submitted to the Commission, the staff shall undertake an investigation to determine whether the qualifying contributions are fraudulent. The Commission staff may request investigative assistance from the Office of the Maine Attorney General or refer the matter for possible criminal prosecution. For purposes of this chapter, "fraudulent qualifying contributions" includes, but is not limited to, asking an individual to sign a Receipt and Acknowledgement form as a contributor when the individual did not make a qualifying contribution, giving money or something of value to someone in exchange for making a qualifying contribution, making false statements in the circulator section of a Receipt and Acknowledgement form, or signing the name of another person in the contributor section of the Receipt and Acknowledgment form unless the person signing the form does so on behalf of a family member who authorizes the signature but is unable to sign due to a physical impairment or disability. Fraudulent qualifying contributions must be rejected.

J. Compliance by gubernatorial candidates. Within three weeks of declaring an intention to qualify for Maine Clean Election Act funding, candidates for Governor must appoint one or more compliance officers who will oversee the collection of qualifying contributions and must submit a compliance plan for training and oversight of persons collecting qualifying contributions. The compliance plan must describe the procedures for

(1) training the circulators who will be collecting qualifying contributions,

(2) minimizing the risk of error or fraud by communicating with circulators during the collection process to verify that each contributor listed in qualifying papers provided personal funds, nothing of value was provided to the contributor, and every contributor personally made the required acknowledgment by signing a paper form or completing the online procedure for making a qualifying contribution,

(3) the compliance officer's personal verification with each circulator that he or she complied with required procedures before the campaign's acceptance of qualifying contributions from that circulator, and

(4) responding appropriately when receipt and acknowledgement forms have been completed erroneously or fraudulent qualifying contributions have been collected through investigating the extent of the error or fraud and taking remedial action to avoid risk of future error or fraud.

K. Collection of qualifying contributions by paid staff. No person other than the candidate may compensate others for collecting qualifying contributions, except that paid staff of a party committee may provide limited assistance to a candidate pursuant to the exemption under Title 21-A M.R.S.A. § 1012 (2)(B)(7)(A) .

L. Compensating others to collect qualifying contributions. If a candidate compensates any person for collecting qualifying contributions, the compensation must be from funds currently available to the candidate's campaign. A candidate may not agree to make payment for collection of qualifying contributions from funds not currently available but anticipated to become available upon submission of the qualifying contributions collected. A candidate may not compensate any person for collecting qualifying contributions based on the number of contributions collected by that person.

M. Volunteer assistance with collecting qualifying contributions. A candidate may receive volunteer assistance from an individual with the collection of qualifying contributions. Expenses incurred by the individual for vehicle travel or other purposes may be reimbursed only by the candidate.

N. Returns of qualifying contributions. Qualifying contributions submitted to the Commission in the form of check or money order are not returnable nor refundable. If the Commission receives a request from a contributor for the return of an online qualifying contribution because the contributor made a duplicate contribution or some other error, the Commission may, in its sole discretion, forward the request to the contractor that supports the online service if the return would be feasible within the timing and other constraints of the contractor.

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