SEEC begins awarding CEP for 2024 election

The State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) has begun awarding Citizens’ Election Program (CEP) grants to candidates running in the August 13 primary and November 5 general election.

To date, the SEEC, which administers the CEP program , has determined that five state senate candidates and seven state representative candidates have met eligibility requirements to receive public funding for their campaigns for grants worth up to $876,000.

To be eligible to receive public funding, candidates must raise small-dollar donations between $5 and $230 from eligible residents. State senatorial candidates must raise $17,3000 from at least 300 eligible residents living in municipalities included in their district. State representative candidates must raise $5,800 from at least 150 residents living in municipalities included in their district.

During its May 30 meeting, the SEEC determined the following candidates for state representative were eligible to receive CEP grants:

Jason Buchsbaum (R-69)
Holly Cheeseman (R-37)
Lucy Dathan (D-142)
Anne Hughes (D-135)
Sarah Keitt (D-134)
Renee LaPalme-Waldron (D-51)
Joe Polletta (R-68)

It also determined the following state senate candidates were eligible to receive CEP grants:

Eric Berthel (R-32)
Catherine Osten (D-19)
Justin Potter (D-30)

At the commission’s May 22 meeting, it also voted to approve CEP grants for state senate candidates Michelle Coelho (R-24), Rob Sampson (R-16), and Ayana Taylor (D-2).

State representative candidates are eligible to receive up to $36,500, the amount available for a full election grant. State senate candidates are eligible to receive up to $124,100, the amount available for a full election grant. The candidates who have already been determined eligible to receive CEP grants have already beat the August 27 deadline, by which time candidates must have applied for a grant. Candidates who apply after this deadline are eligible for a reduced grant.

Candidates can also receive primary grants, worth $51,100 for senatorial candidates and $14,600 for representatives, but the total candidates receive in primary grants is deducted from the maximum general election grant a candidate is eligible to receive.

Candidates are also only eligible to receive the full grant amount if they are facing another major party candidate. Candidates running unopposed are only eligible for a 30 percent grant, $37,230 for senatorial candidates and $10,950 for state representatives.

If all candidates currently approved to receive CEP receive the maximum grant, the SEEC will pay out $876,000.

None of the candidates who have been deemed eligible to receive CEP money to date are running in party dominant districts, which would make them eligible to receive larger grants during the primary.

In a press release announcing the eligibility findings, the SEEC said the CEP program, currently in its 16 year, “continues to provide a seawall against the rising tide of special interest money in Connecticut elections.”

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