Ohio Elections Commission Increases Penalties for Failure to File Campaign Finance Reports
October 2007

The Ohio Elections Commission recently voted to increase fines and penalties for candidate and political action committees that violate Ohio's campaign finance filing laws. Expressing frustration with the number of candidates and other political groups who repeatedly missed filing deadlines, the Commission voted uninimously to increase penalties for the first time in about ten years. The Elections Commission generally imposes a twenty-five dollar per day fine for failure to file a campaign finance report. Continued non-compliance can lead to substantial fines as additional violations continue to acrue.

However, the Commission typically would reconsider penalty amounts once the proper reports are filed. Even this amnesty program, which can substantially reduce total penalties owed if a candidate or committee gets into complaince, has not encouraged some to get the required campaign finance reports filed. Earlier this year, the Ohio Attorney General's Office reported that some $27.6 million dollars in outstanding fines were still subject to collection by that office.

With this high number of outstanding fines and growing frustration by the Ohio Elections Commission over repeated failure to file required campaign finance reports, PACs, parties, and political candidates can expect a greater crack-down on these requirements. Campaign finance deadlines and instructions for filing the required reports can be found on the Ohio Secretary of State's website.