Candidate and Campaign Filing

Online Filing

Public Access - forms PROVIDED BY candidates, committees, and elected officials

The Public Access Portal contains financial information filed by candidates and committees. It can answer questions about who is contributing money, who is receiving money, and how it is being spent.

If you require forms for an election prior to those available on our website, please contact the Elections Department at (415) 473-6437.

Use the Public Access Portal to research campaign contributions and expenditures, review campaign statements filed by candidates, or examine a committee's filing history.

Get Started with Public Access Portal

Filer Access - where candidates, committees, and elected officials file

The Filer Access Portal is a web-based data entry filing system that allows candidates and campaign committees to submit disclosure reports mandated by California's Political Reform Act to the Electronic Filing System free of charge.

Use the Filer Access Portal to create electronic campaign statements. Before you begin you must have received your Electronic Filing System filer identification number and password. To get a filer identification number and password for your committee, call the Elections Department at (415) 473-6437.

Get Started with Filer Access Portal

Manual Filing

Campaign Disclosure Forms can be found at the California Fair Political Practices Commission website.

Schedule

Filing deadlines for candidates and committees can be found at the California Fair Political Practices Commission website.

Fines and Enforcement Policy

Campaign Statements

The late filing of campaign statements denies the general public important information that should be current and readily available. The Political Reform Act provides that campaign finance disclosure statements filed late may be subject to fines. The following policy, adopted by the office of the Elections Department of the County of Marin, is pursuant to Section 91013 of the Political Reform Act.

If any person files an original campaign finance statement after the deadline imposed by the Political Reform Act, he or she shall, in addition to any other penalties or remedies, be liable in the amount of ten dollars ($10) per day after the deadline until the statement or report is filed. The filing officer need not enforce liability of fines if on an impartial basis he or she determines the late filing was not willful and the statement or report is filed before the waiver of liability period ends. No liability shall be waived if a campaign statement is not filed 10 days after specific written notice, and 5 days in the case of the second pre-election period. Liability under this policy shall not exceed the cumulative amount contributions or expenditures stated in the latest statement or report, or one hundred dollars ($100) whichever is greater.

Due to the immediacy of the information involved prior to the election the waiver of liability period is not applicable for Late Contribution reports and Late Independent Expenditure reports. Independent expenditures for elective county offices please refer to County of Marin Ordinance 3519.

Failure to pay any fines associated with the late filing of reports or statements will result in civil action. The filing officer may obtain a judgment in small claims, municipal, or superior court, depending on the jurisdictional amount.

Failure to file the required reports or statements will result in referrals to the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission.

The Elections Department office will not investigate campaign disclosure violations. The parties pursuant to Section 91001 of the Political Reform Act, and any persons residing within the jurisdiction, may pursue civil actions or injunctions, depending on the nature of the violation.

Process

1. Although our office is not required to send initial campaign finance notices prior to filing deadlines, we will send notifications to filers roughly 30 days prior to the filing deadline with only one reminder notice sent for both pre-election periods.
2. All statements may be faxed or emailed, however we must receive by regular mail those statement pages that require signatures. A faxed or scanned statement shall not be deemed filed and therefore considered late if the original signature is not received.
3. All statements are due no later than the published due date. One day after the filing deadline, our office will send to the non-filer a late notification. If the statement is still not filed, a second notification will be sent stating specific written notice of the filing requirement. Failure to file after the date stated in the second notice will result in fines from our office and referrals to the Fair Political Practices Commission.
4. The amount of time between notifications varies depending on the type of statement and election cycle. Please see Ordinance 3519 regarding Independent Expenditures.
5. Any request by our filing officer for correction or amendment of campaign statements must be resolved no later than the stated due date. Failure to respond accordingly may result in referrals to the Fair Political Practices Commission.