New report shows who has — and hasn’t — turned in latest campaign finance records

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas on Tuesday released a set of lists naming which candidates have — and which ones haven’t — filed campaign finance reports with the state as of early July, a move she said would help shine a spotlight on those who aren’t following the rules.

Candidates are required to disclose funds they raise or spend if either totals $500 or more over a given two-year state election cycle. They’re also required to disclose any funds they “roll over” from a previous cycle’s campaign if they have raised or spent any amount on their current campaign. There are reporting deadlines throughout the year; the most recent was on July 1, and there’s one more — Aug. 1 — before the primary election.

If candidates carry over money but don’t do any fundraising or spending, they’re required to file a “no activity report.” Notably, though, state law doesn’t require any disclosure if a candidate raises or spends less than $500 in a given period — so long as they did not carry any money over.

As such, candidates for the upcoming primary who did not file a July 1 report — about a third of some 300 running for state and county offices this year, according to the lists published Tuesday — are not necessarily out of compliance with state law, Copeland Hanzas said in an interview.

She thinks it’s likely, though, that some are.

The secretary said she hears “all the time” from candidates alleging that their opponents have run up a tab on batches of campaign signs or slick mail advertisements, but haven’t filed the necessary reports with the state.

The issue, she said, is that state law doesn’t provide an enforcement mechanism to make sure people are disclosing everything they should be. She characterized the lists as a small step forward.

“Nothing has changed about the underlying gaps in our campaign finance law,” the secretary said. “And that is a shortcoming in the system — but at least this will help bring some transparency into who is filing.”

Among candidates for statewide office, about 40% had filed 2024 disclosure forms, while some 60% had not filed anything and a single candidate filed a “no activity report,” according to the lists, which are current as of Monday morning, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Republican candidates H. Brooke Paige, who is running for secretary of state, state attorney general and state auditor, as well as Joshua Bechhoefer, who’s running for state treasurer, had not filed reports as of Monday, according to the lists. Neither had Peter Duval, who’s one of the Democrats running for governor.

Of the House candidates on the lists, about 50% had filed disclosure forms and 20% had filed “no activity,” while the remaining roughly 30% had not filed any forms. Among Senate candidates, meanwhile, some 70% had filed disclosures while 8% had declared no activity, and about 20% had filed nothing, the lists show.

Meanwhile, none of the six candidates running for high bailiff — the sole county office on the ballot this year — had filed any disclosure forms, the lists show.

Copeland Hanzas said her office plans to release updated lists after all future filing deadlines for this year’s election, which are Aug. 1, Sept. 1, Oct. 1, Oct. 15, Nov. 1, Nov. 19 and Dec. 15.

The secretary said that, in addition to providing information to voters about which candidates may not be filing legally required forms, she hopes the lists will prompt new conversations in the Legislature next year about possible updates to the state’s campaign finance laws, including new enforcement mechanisms.

Copeland Hanzas acknowledged that, when she was in the House before becoming secretary of state, she chaired the committee that develops and oversees election laws, among other policies. She said she “will take responsibility” for not addressing such shortcomings as a lawmaker, but that she supports doing so now.

Tuesday’s report also coincides with a larger, ongoing effort to update some of her office’s core public-facing systems, she said, including those on campaign finance and lobbying disclosures.

While the data in the lists released Tuesday is already published on the secretary of state’s online campaign finance portal , it can be difficult to access, Copeland Hanzas said. She said a new campaign finance system — which wouldn’t roll out until after this fall’s election at the earliest — will have an improved user interface and be easier to search.

“So that hopefully in the future, the new report that we put out this morning will be something that’s much more easy for the individual user to grab on their own,” she said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: New report shows who has — and hasn’t — turned in latest campaign finance records .