TITLE 15

Elections

Election Campaigns

CHAPTER 80. Campaign Contributions and Expenditures

Subchapter II. Contribution Limits

§ 8010. Contribution limits for candidates.

(a) No person (other than a political party) shall make, and no candidate, treasurer or anyone acting on behalf of any candidate or candidate committee shall accept, any contribution which will cause the total amount of such person’s contributions to or in support of such candidate to exceed, with respect to a statewide election, $1,200 during an election period, or with respect to any election that is not statewide, $600 during an election period.

(b) No political party shall make, and no candidate, treasurer or anyone acting on behalf of any candidate or candidate committee shall accept, any contribution which will cause the total amount of contributions from any political party to or in support of a candidate in an election period of such candidate to exceed, for the following offices:

(1) Governor: $75,000;

(2) All other State-wide offices: $25,000;

(3) N.C.C. Executives: $25,000;

(4) N.C.C. President: $15,000;

(5) All other county offices: $5,000;

(6) State Senate: $5,000;

(7) State House of Representatives: $3,000;

(8) All other offices: $3,000.

67 Del. Laws, c. 449, §  1

§ 8011. Contribution limits for parties.

No person shall make any contributions which will cause the total amount of such person’s contributions to a political party to exceed $20,000 during an election period. No treasurer or other person acting on behalf of any political party shall accept any contribution which such person knows will cause the total amount of the donor’s contributions to a political party to exceed $20,000 during an election period. The contribution limits set forth in this chapter shall not be applicable to any contributions received by a political party from or on behalf of any national political party, any organization subordinate to such national political party or any other national political organization established for the purpose of supporting elections to national, state and local offices including, but not limited to, the Republican and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committees, the Republican and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees, the Republican and Democratic Victory Funds, the Republican and Democratic Governors’ Associations.

67 Del. Laws, c. 449, §  1

§ 8012. Contribution limits generally.

(a) No person shall make, and no candidate, treasurer or any other person acting on behalf of a political committee shall accept, any contribution in excess of $50 in cash to a political committee during an election period.

(b) No political party shall make any contribution to any political action committee.

(c) Any contribution by a political action committee shall be by a check which discloses the full name and address of said political action committee.

(d) No agency of the State, no political subdivision of the State, no agency of any political subdivision of the State and no agency authorized by an act of the General Assembly shall make any contribution to any political committee or candidate for any elective office. No candidate, treasurer or other person acting on behalf of a political committee shall accept any contribution from any agency of the State, any political subdivision of the State, any agency of any political subdivision of the State or any agency authorized by an act of the General Assembly. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a political subdivision of the State which has enacted an ordinance providing for public financing of elections shall be permitted to make contributions in an amount authorized by such ordinance for campaign expenditures authorized by § 8020 of this title to a candidate committee of a candidate for public office of such political subdivision and the candidate committee shall be permitted to accept such contributions.

(e) Any person other than an individual or a political committee which makes a contribution to a political committee shall notify such political committee in writing of the full names and mailing addresses of:

(1) All persons who, directly or otherwise, own a legal or equitable interest of 50% or greater (whether in the form of stock ownership, percentage of partnership interest, liability for the debts of the entity, entitlement to the profits from the other entity or other indicia of interest) in such corporation, partnership or other entity, or that no such persons exist; and

(2) A responsible party, if such contribution would cause the aggregate amount of contributions by such entity during the election period to exceed $100.

The political committee may rely on such notification, and should the notification provided by the representative of the entity be inaccurate or misleading, the person or persons responsible for the notification, and not the political committee which received the contribution, shall be liable therefor. A ratable portion of the contribution by the corporation, partnership or other entity shall be deemed to be a contribution under this chapter to the political committee by each such person who owns a 50% or greater interest in the entity, shall be included within the limit imposed by this section on individual contributions, and shall be so included in the reports filed by the candidate committee with the Commissioner under § 8030 of this title.

The Commissioner shall adopt by regulation a uniform summary of the law relating to the reporting of contributions pursuant to this subsection, with illustrative examples of how such law applies in specific cases. Such summary shall be posted on Elections Commissioner’s web site, and shall be provided by a political committee to any person requesting same that has made a contribution to such political committee pursuant to this subsection.

(f) Any expenditure made by any political committee on behalf of or in connection with the campaign of any candidate (except an independent expenditure that meets the requirements of this chapter) shall be deemed a contribution under this chapter, shall be included within the limit imposed by § 8010(a) of this title on individual contributions, provided, however, that such expenditures by political parties shall be included within the limit imposed by § 8010(b) of this title on contributions by political parties, and shall be so included in the reports filed by the candidate committee with the Commissioner under § 8030 of this title. Where such an expenditure by any political committee benefits more than 1 candidate, such expenditure shall be prorated among the candidates benefitted for purposes of the limits on contributions. For example, if a billboard depicts 2 candidates’ names and likenesses with equal prominence, each candidate is benefitted equally by the expenditure for the billboard.

(g) For purposes of this chapter:

(1) Amounts paid by a political party to compensate individuals working on behalf of all of the candidates of the party, and amounts incurred on behalf of or in connection with 5 or more candidates shall not be deemed to be contributions to the candidates of such political party;

(2) Any reimbursement paid by 1 political committee to another political committee for costs actually incurred by the other political committee on behalf of the political committee that makes the reimbursement shall not be deemed to be a contribution to such other political committee;

(3) If 2 or more candidate committees share the amount of any expenditure permitted under this chapter, no contribution is made, so long as the amounts respectively paid by the respective candidate committees reasonably reflects the amount of the use made by each candidate committee of goods or services for which the expenditure was made; and

(4) Costs incurred by political parties for voter registration and get-out-the vote activities conducted by a political party shall not be considered contributions to any candidate.

67 Del. Laws, c. 449, §  168 Del. Laws, c. 230, §  178 Del. Laws, c. 400, §  479 Del. Laws, c. 346, §  1

§ 8012A. Contributions to a political party from a joint account.

(a) Any contribution to a political committee made by means of a check, debit card, or other means of payment from a joint account shall be allocated to the person who signed the check, who authorized the payment in writing, or who provided an electronic signature or electronic verification for such contribution. If more than 1 person on the joint account signed the check, authorized payment in writing, or provided their electronic signature or electronic verification authorizing the contribution, then the contribution shall be allocated equally to those persons unless written directions are provided upon receipt of the check or authorization of payment as to how to allocate the contribution amongst those persons.

(b) If a contribution to a political committee by means of a check, debit card, or other form of payment from a joint account causes a contributor to exceed the limits established in this subchapter, the treasurer of such political committee shall either:

(1) Return the excessive portion of the contribution to the contributor; or

(2) Reattribute such contribution if:

a. The treasurer informs such contributor in writing that he or she has exceeded the limit;

b. The treasurer informs such contributor in writing that he or she may request the return of the excessive portion of the contribution; and

c. Such contributor provides the treasurer with written directions reattributing the contribution signed by each person the contribution is being attributed within 60 days of the political committee receiving the contribution.

79 Del. Laws, c. 345, §  170 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1

§ 8013. Short title

Repealed by 67 Del. Laws, c. 449, § 1, effective Jan. 1, 1991.