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County Clerk Administration of the Campaign Finance Act

County Clerk Administration of the Campaign Finance Act

TO:               County Clerks

FROM:         Michigan Department of State, Bureau of Elections

SUBJECT:    Administration of the Campaign Finance Act

 

A review of the duties all county clerks must perform under Section 16 of Michigan’s Campaign Finance Act (MCFA) is provided in the following paragraphs. A listing of the resources provided through the Michigan Department of State’s Bureau of Elections to assist county clerks with the performance of the duties is also provided.

Visit the County Clerk Tool Box for additional information and publications for you to use to administer the MCFA.
Available Resources

The following documents are available from the County Clerk Tool Box.

Dates: Provides currently and filing schedules in a condensed format suitable for printing and reproducing.  Detailed filing scheduled are also available form our website.

Contribution Limits: Provides the contribution limits for local and state level offices and state level caucus committees.

Sample Forms:  Samples of the Notice of Failure to File, Notice of Error or Omission and Notice of Late Filing Fee forms available.  The forms may be copied and filled out as appropriate or you may use the wording from the Notices to produce your own versions.  MS Word versions are available as well.

  • Notice of Failure to File:  The county clerk is responsible for determining whether a statement or report that is required to be filed under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act (MCFA) is, in fact, filed.  All county clerks are required to review their records and determine if any candidate or committee that was required to file a report failed to do so.  A candidate or committee that fails to file a required report must be sent a “Notice of Failure to File” within four (4) business days after the elapse of the report due date. 

 

  • Notice of Error or Omission:  The county clerk is responsible for determining whether a statement or report filed under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act complies, on its face, with the requirements of the Act.  In order to make this determination, a review must be performed for errors or omissions.  If it is determined that the report contains errors or omissions, a “Notice of Error or Omission” must be forwarded to the filer.  The submission of a response to the Notice of Error or Omission is required within nine (9) business days after the date of the Notice.

 

  • Late Filing Fee Notice:  If a Statement of Organization, Campaign Statement or Late Contribution Report is filed late, the committee is subject to late filing fees.  The county clerk is required to determine the number of days the report was filed after the filing deadline, indicate the late filing fee assessment on the “Late Filing Fee Notice” and notify the committee of the late filing fee assessment.  The late filing fee schedules are available in Appendix E.

Training for County Clerks:  A “slide show” presentation has been placed on our website and the Elections e-Learning Center to further assist you with your responsibilities under the MCFA.

The presentation can also be forwarded to you via email.  Or, if you prefer, we can provide more traditional classroom training or a webinar (based on the slide show) for you and your staff.  All trainings are held in Lansing.  Contact us and we can discuss options that fit your needs. 

Training for Committees:  The current Webinar Schedule for committees is available on our website.   Please feel free to share the schedule with your committees. Counties are welcome to conduct in house trainings for local committees. 

Copies of Campaign Statements Available on the Internet:  Campaign Statements filed with this office at can be accessed from our Campaign Finance Searchable Database.

Questions? If you have any questions, please contact us.