Campaign Finance Basics

Why Campaign Finance Rules Matter

Running for a local office such as mayor means handling other people’s money in public. Wisconsin treats that money as a matter of public trust, and it sets rules for how campaigns collect, spend, and report it. Those rules are written into Wisconsin’s campaign finance law, Wis. Stat. ch. 11, and they are administered statewide by the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. For a local candidate, however, the day-to-day paperwork is filed not with the state but with your municipal clerk ¹. Understanding this split — the Ethics Commission sets and interprets the law, the municipal clerk receives your filings — keeps you from sending forms to the wrong place.

This lesson explains the core duties a local candidate committee carries from the first day of a campaign. It is educational, not legal advice. Forms, thresholds, and limits can change, so confirm every requirement with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission and your City Clerk before you act.

Register First, Before Any Money Moves

The single most important rule to internalize is about timing. A candidate must file a Campaign Finance Registration Statement — Form CF-1L for local candidates — before accepting any contribution or making any disbursement ¹. Registration is not a step you take after the donations start arriving; it is the gate you pass through first. Accepting even a single check or paying a single bill before the CF-1L is on file puts the campaign out of compliance from the start.

Part of registering is establishing the people responsible for the committee. Campaigns appoint a treasurer (the candidate may sometimes serve in this role, but the function must exist) and organize as a candidate committee. The treasurer is the person accountable for the committee’s financial records and filings, so choose someone organized and willing to keep careful books.

The $2,500 Reporting Exemption

Many local campaigns are small, and the law accounts for that. A local candidate committee may claim an exemption from filing periodic campaign finance reports, provided it does not accept contributions or make disbursements that exceed $2,500 in a calendar year ¹. Staying under that aggregate is a deliberate choice some campaigns make to keep their administrative load light.

The exemption is narrow and easy to misunderstand, so be precise about what it does and does not cover:

• It does not excuse you from registering. You must file the CF-1L regardless of how little you raise or spend. The exemption is only from periodic reports, not from registration.
• You must still keep records. While exempt, the candidate or treasurer must keep the committee’s financial records for 3 years after the election ¹. “No reports required” is not the same as “no bookkeeping required.”
• The $2,500 figure is an annual aggregate, measured per calendar year across both contributions and disbursements.

If You Cross the $2,500 Line

A campaign that intends to stay small can still grow past the threshold — a late surge of donations, an unexpected expense, or a longer race than planned. If the committee exceeds the $2,500 aggregate in a calendar year, two things must happen. First, the committee must file an amended registration within 10 days. Second, it must begin filing the required periodic reports ¹. The exemption ends the moment you cross the line, and the clock on the amendment is short, so a campaign approaching the limit should be ready to switch into full reporting mode quickly.

Contribution Limits

You may wonder whether there is a cap on how much any single donor can give. Wisconsin law does address contribution limits, but the specific figures are not covered in this lesson, and you should not assume any particular per-donor maximum. Before soliciting or accepting large gifts, confirm the current contribution limits directly with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

Practical Steps From Day One

Compliance is far easier when good habits start with the campaign itself rather than being reconstructed later:

• File the CF-1L first. Treat it as the prerequisite to any fundraising or spending.
• Open a separate campaign bank account. Never mix campaign money with personal funds; a dedicated account makes recordkeeping and any future reporting straightforward.
• Track every contribution and expenditure from day one. Record the date, amount, source, and purpose of each transaction. These records satisfy the 3-year retention duty and make a transition to periodic reporting painless if you cross $2,500.
• Decide early whether you intend to stay under the exemption. That single decision shapes your fundraising plans, your spending, and how closely you watch the running annual total.
• Use current official forms. Get the CF-1L and any reporting forms from the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, and file local registrations and reports with your municipal clerk.

When a question falls outside what you can confirm from official guidance, ask. The Wisconsin Ethics Commission interprets ch. 11, and your City Clerk handles your local filings — both are the authoritative sources for current forms, thresholds, and limits.