Title 17, Elections

§ 2687. Appeal to Superior Court Within five days after the declaration of the clerk, an aggrieved candidate may appeal to the Superior Court by giving a written notice to that effect to the other candidates who appeared before the board of civil authority. The original of the no…

§ 2688. Recount on question submitted (a) A registered voter or, in the case of a union school district, at least one registered voter from each member of the union district may demand a recount of ballots on any question submitted to the vote of the municipality using the Austra…

§ 2689. Preservation of ballots In an election in which the Australian ballot system is used, the ballots shall be preserved as provided in this title in the case of general elections. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 2701. Presidential primary; time of holding; form of ballot In presidential election years, a presidential primary for each major political party shall be held in all municipalities on the first Tuesday in March. The Secretary of State shall prepare and distribute for use at th…

§ 2702. Nominating petition (a) The name of any person shall be printed upon the primary ballot as a candidate for nomination by any major political party if petitions signed by at least 1,000 voters in accordance with sections 2353, 2354, and 2358 of this title are filed with th…

§ 2703. Examining petitions; supplementary petitions The Secretary of State shall examine the petitions and ascertain whether they conform to the provisions of this chapter, and sections 2353, 2354, and 2358 of this title. If found not to conform, the Secretary shall state in wri…

§ 2704. Ballots A person voting at the primary shall be required to ask for the ballot of the party in which the voter wishes to vote and an election official shall record the voter’s choice of ballot by marking the entrance checklist with a letter code, as designated by the Secr…

§ 2705. Checklist The checklist for the primary shall be the checklist to be used at the annual town meeting, except that the names of residents of unorganized towns and gores shall be added to the checklist in the manner provided in section 2123 of this title and it shall be sta…

§ 2706. Provisions applicable The appropriate provisions of this title shall apply to presidential primaries, unless clearly inconsistent herewith. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 6.)

§ 2715. Party convention to elect delegates (a) The State committee of each major political party holding a national convention shall call a party convention, under rules proposed in advance and adopted by the committee, to be held during the month of May or June in each presiden…

§ 2716. Notification to Secretary of State Not later than 5:00 p.m. on the 65th day before the day of the general election, the chair of the State committee of each major political party shall certify in writing to the Secretary of State the names of the presidential and vice pre…

§ 2721. Nomination of presidential electors In presidential election years, presidential electors for major political parties shall be nominated at the party platform convention held pursuant to this title. Electors for all other presidential candidates shall be nominated pursuan…

§ 2722. Certification of nominees for electors After adjournment of the platform convention of a major political party, the chair and secretary of the convention shall promptly execute a sworn statement certifying the names, towns of residence, and correct mailing addresses of th…

§ 2731. Certificates of election When the canvassing committee provided for in section 2592 of this title meets, it shall issue its certificates of election, with respect to the presidential election, to the electors nominated by the party whose candidate for President has receiv…

§ 2732. Meeting of electors (a) The electors shall meet at the State House on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December next following their election to vote for the President and Vice President of the United States, agreeably to the laws of the United States. (b)(…

§ 2751. Article I—Membership Any state of the United States and the District of Columbia may become a member of this agreement by enacting this agreement. (Added 2011, No. 10, § 1.)

§ 2752. Article II—Right of the people in member states to vote for president and vice president Each member state shall conduct a statewide popular election for President and Vice President of the United States. (Added 2011, No. 10, § 1.)

§ 2753. Article III—Manner of appointing presidential electors in member states (a) Prior to the time set by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, the chief election official of each member state shall determine the number of votes for each presidential sla…

§ 2754. Article IV—Other provisions (a) This agreement shall take effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have enacted this agreement in substantially the same form and the enactments by the states have taken effect in each state. (b) Any memb…

§ 2755. Article V—Definitions For purposes of this agreement: (1) “Chief election official” shall mean the state official or body that is authorized to certify the total number of popular votes for each presidential slate. (2) “Chief executive” shall mean the governor of a state …

§ 2901. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Candidate” means an individual who has taken affirmative action to become a candidate for State, county, local, or legislative office in a primary, special, general, or local election. An affirmative action shall include one or mo…

§ 2902. Exceptions The definitions of “contribution,” “expenditure,” and “electioneering communication” shall not apply to: (1) any news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical public…

§ 2903. Penalties (a) A person who knowingly and intentionally violates a provision of subchapter 2, 3, or 4 of this chapter shall be fined not more than $1,000.00 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. (b) A person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be su…

§ 2904. Civil investigation (a)(1) The Attorney General or a State’s Attorney, whenever he or she has reason to believe any person to be or to have been in violation of this chapter or of any rule made pursuant to this chapter, may examine or cause to be examined by any agent or …

§ 2904a. Reports to the State Ethics Commission Upon receipt of a complaint made in regard to a violation of this chapter or of any rule made pursuant to this chapter, the Attorney General or a State’s Attorney shall: (1) Forward a copy of the complaint to the State Ethics Commis…

§ 2905. Adjustments for inflation (a)(1) Whenever it is required by this chapter, the Secretary of State shall make adjustments to monetary amounts provided in this chapter based on the Consumer Price Index. Increases shall be rounded to the nearest $10.00 and shall apply for the…

§ 2906. Campaign database; candidate information web page (a) Campaign database. For each election, the Secretary of State shall develop and continually update a publicly accessible campaign database, which shall be made available to the public through the Secretary of State’s ho…

§ 2907. Administration The Secretary of State shall administer this chapter and shall perform all duties required under this chapter. The Secretary of State may employ or contract for the services of persons necessary for performance of these duties. (Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Ses…

§ 2921. Registration; candidates (a)(1) Each candidate who files a consent to the printing of the candidate’s name on the ballot, as provided in section 2361, 2370, 2385, or 2402 of this title, shall register with the Secretary of State prior to filing the consent stating the can…

§ 2922. Registration; political committees; independent expenditure-only political committees (a)(1) Each political committee or independent expenditure-only political committee shall register with the Secretary of State within 10 days after making expenditures of $500.00 or more…

§ 2923. Political parties; registration; checking accounts; treasurer (a)(1) Each political party that has accepted contributions or made expenditures of $1,000.00 or more in any two-year general election cycle shall register with the Secretary of State within 10 days of reaching…

§ 2924. Candidates; surplus campaign funds; new campaign accounts (a) A candidate who has surplus funds after all campaign debts have been paid shall not convert the surplus to personal use, other than to reduce personal campaign debts or as otherwise provided in this chapter. (b…

§ 2925. Political committees; surplus campaign funds (a) A member of a political committee or an independent expenditure-only political committee that has surplus funds after all campaign debts have been paid shall not convert the surplus to personal use. (b) Surplus funds in a p…

§ 2941. Limitations of contributions (a) In any election cycle: (1)(A) A candidate for State Representative or for local office shall not accept contributions totaling more than: (i) $1,000.00 from a single source; or (ii) $1,000.00 from a political committee. (B) Such a candidat…

§ 2942. Exceptions The contribution limitations established by this subchapter shall not apply to contributions to a political committee made for the purpose of advocating a position on a public question, including a constitutional amendment. (Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3…

§ 2943. Limitations adjusted for inflation The contribution limitations contained in this subchapter shall be adjusted for inflation pursuant to the Consumer Price Index as provided in section 2905 of this chapter. (Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.)

§ 2944. Accountability for related expenditures (a) A related campaign expenditure made on a candidate’s behalf shall be considered a contribution to the candidate on whose behalf it was made. (b) As used in this section, a “related campaign expenditure made on the candidate’s be…

§ 2945. Accepting contributions (a) A candidate, political committee, independent expenditure-only political committee, or political party accepts a contribution when the contribution is deposited in the candidate’s, committee’s, or party’s campaign account or five business days …

§ 2946. Candidate’s attribution to previous cycle A candidate’s expenditures related to a previous campaign and contributions used to retire a debt of a previous campaign shall be attributed to the earlier campaign. (Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.)

§ 2947. Contributions from a candidate This subchapter shall not be interpreted to limit the amount a candidate may contribute to his or her own campaign. (Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.)

§ 2948. Prohibition on transferring contributions A candidate, political committee, or political party shall not accept a contribution that the candidate, political committee, or political party knows is not directly from the contributor but was transferred to the contributor by …

§ 2949. Use of term “candidate” As used in this subchapter, the term “candidate” includes the candidate’s committee, except in regard to the provisions of section 2947 of this subchapter. (Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.)

§ 2950. State officers and State office candidates; contractor contribution restrictions (a) Contributor restrictions on contracting. (1) If a person makes a contribution to a State officer or a candidate for a State office, or if his, her, or its principal or spouse makes such a…

§ 2961. Submission of reports to the Secretary of State (a)(1) The Secretary of State shall provide on the online database set forth in section 2906 of this chapter digital access to the form that he or she provides for any report required by this chapter. Digital access shall en…

§ 2962. Reports; general provisions (a) Any report required to be submitted to the Secretary of State under this chapter shall contain the statement “I hereby certify that the information provided on all pages of this campaign finance disclosure report is true to the best of my k…

§ 2963. Campaign reports; Secretary of State; forms; filing (a) The Secretary of State shall prescribe and provide a uniform reporting form for all campaign finance reports. The reporting form shall be designed to show the following information: (1) the full name, town of residen…