Where and when to file - and how much!

Federal

Candidates running for US Senate or US House representing a major political party must file with their respective parties between noon on March 16 and noon on March 30, and submit a Statement of Intention of Candidacy. One must register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) within 15 days of reaching $5,000 worth of contributions or expenditures. The FEC Form 2 must be filed when registering. Within 10 days of filing FEC Form 2, a candidate must file a Statement of Organization FEC Form 1.  From this point on a candidate must report his or her receipts and disbursements regularly to the FEC. Read more.

Statewide, State, and County

Candidates of major political parties must file by noon on March 16 to run for an election and submit a Statement of Intention of Candidacy. The filing fee is 1% of the total salary for the term of that office or $100, whichever is greater. Candidates and committees must file with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission within 10 days of spending or receiving $500 worth of campaign funds. An initial report for ballot measure committees must be filed within 10 days of receiving or spending $2,500 of campaign money to the SC State Ethics Commission. Candidates must file a pre-election report with the SC State Ethics Commission no later than 15 days prior to the election date that covers any information from the last report (if any) to 20 days prior to the election, even if there has not been any financial activity. Quarterly reports must also be filed by candidates, committees, and ballot measure committees with the SC State Ethics Commission that cover the last report through the calendar quarter:

  • January 10 (covers October 1 - December 31)
  • April 10 (covers January 1 - March 31)
  • July 10 (covers April 1 - June 30)
  • October 10 (covers July 1 - September 30)

Quarterly reports are required once a candidate and committee have started filing even if there has been no financial activity. A final report for candidates and committees is due after the campaign account is closed and there are no outstanding campaign debts. There can be no more funds spent or accepted after this period. Ballot measure committees must also file a final report as well within 60 days following the election.