Vermont campaign-finance compliance report draws scrutiny ahead of general election

Vermont’s latest campaign-finance transparency report found broad but incomplete compliance among candidates on or slated for the 2026 primary or general-election ballots, giving voters a current record to review before the November 3 general election.

The report was issued August 7, four days before Vermont’s August 11 primary, and is based on publicly accessible records available through August 6. It found that 409 of 429 candidates — 95% — had registered with the Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance System.

A separate measure found that 368 candidates — 86% — had filed either an August 1 campaign-finance disclosure report or an under-threshold affidavit.

The distinction matters. Registration and periodic filing are separate requirements, so a candidate can be registered in the system and still have an outstanding filing.

County candidates had the largest filing gap

Filing-or-affidavit compliance varied by office. Statewide candidates and State Senate candidates were each at 100%. State Representative candidates were at 98%, while county candidates were at 71%.

The 71% county figure applies to the August 1 filing requirement. It is not the county registration rate, which was 92%.

The Secretary of State’s table lists 338 candidates who filed a full August 1 campaign-finance report and 30 who filed an under-threshold affidavit. It also lists 41 registered candidates who had not filed either document by the August 6 cutoff.

Those 41 included one State Senate candidate, 18 State Representative candidates and 22 county candidates. Another 20 candidates had not registered: 12 State Representative candidates and eight county candidates.

The report does not establish that any candidate intentionally violated the law or is legally liable. It is a status snapshot based on records available at the stated cutoff, and later filings can change an individual candidate’s status. The report also notes that some independent and minor-party candidacies could have been filed after the comparison data was assembled.

What candidates must file

For the offices covered by the report, Vermont requires candidates for statewide office, the General Assembly and county offices to register in the Campaign Finance System. Candidates who raise or spend at least $500 during the election cycle generally must file disclosure reports. The reporting requirement also applies when a campaign carries forward surplus funds from a previous cycle, even if it has no new activity.

A campaign that remains below $500 and carries no surplus may attest through an under-threshold affidavit instead. That affidavit is not a detailed accounting of contributions and expenditures; it certifies that the campaign does not have activity requiring a full disclosure report.

The August 7 report said 86% of candidates complied with the August 1 filing requirement, up from 80% for the July 1 requirement. A July 23 Vermont Public report used an earlier July 1 snapshot and found 337 compliant candidates out of 422. The reports used different cutoff dates and candidate totals, so they are not directly contradictory.

How voters can check a candidate

Voters can use the Secretary of State’s online Campaign Finance System to search filed disclosure reports, under-threshold affidavits and mass-media reports. The system also provides filing lists and searches by reporting period or reporting entity.

Checking both registration and filing status can provide a clearer picture than checking only whether a candidate appears in the system. A registered candidate may still have missed a required periodic filing, while an affidavit generally indicates that the campaign remained below the reporting threshold and had no carried-over surplus.

More deadlines are ahead

The next major campaign-finance deadlines for Vermont’s 2026 statewide election cycle are September 1, October 1 and October 15. Additional reports are due the Friday before the November 3 general election, two weeks after the election and December 15.

Reports are due by 11:59 p.m. on the deadline. Each reporting period generally cuts off three days before the filing date, so transactions after that cutoff appear on the next report.

Possible enforcement is separate from the report

Members of the public may submit campaign-finance complaints through the state’s enforcement process. The Vermont Attorney General and state’s attorneys have civil investigative authority when they have reason to believe campaign-finance law may have been violated.

Vermont law allows civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation. That potential penalty does not mean every candidate listed as missing a filing has received a final enforcement finding. The Secretary of State’s report identifies registration and filing statuses as of August 6; it does not determine intent, fraud or liability.

Sources

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