West Virginia Code 3-12-9 – Qualifying contributions
(a) A participating candidate or his or her candidate's committee may not accept more than one qualifying contribution from a single individual. A qualifying contribution may not be less than $1 nor more than $100. To be considered as a proper qualifying contribution, the qualifying contribution must be made by a registered West Virginia voter. A participating candidate shall collect qualifying contributions which in the aggregate are not less than $35,000 nor more than $50,000. Qualifying contributions in excess of $50,000 shall be sent to the State Election Commission for deposit in the fund.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 3-12-9
- Candidate: shall mean any person to be voted for at an election. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
- Certified candidate: means an individual seeking election to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals who has been certified in accordance with section ten of this article as having met all of the requirements for receiving public campaign financing from the fund. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Contribution: means a gift subscription, assessment, payment for services, dues, advance, donation, pledge, contract, agreement, forbearance or promise of money or other tangible thing of value, whether conditional or legally enforceable, or a transfer of money or other tangible thing of value to a person, made for the purpose of influencing the nomination, election or defeat of a candidate. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Election: shall mean the procedure whereby the voters of this state or any subdivision thereof elect persons to fill public offices, or elect members of a Constitutional convention, or vote on public questions. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
- Financial agent: means any individual acting for and by himself or herself, or any two or more individuals acting together or cooperating in a financial way to aid or take part in the nomination or election of any candidate for public office, or to aid or promote the success or defeat of any political party at any election. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Fund: means the Supreme Court of Appeals Public Campaign Financing Fund created by section five of this article. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Nonparticipating candidate: means a candidate who is:
(A) Seeking election to the Supreme Court of Appeals. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Office: shall be construed to mean "public office" which shall include (1) any elective office provided for by the Constitution or laws of the United States or of this state to which a salary or other compensation attaches, and (2) membership in a Constitutional convention. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
- Participating candidate: means a candidate who is seeking election to the Supreme Court of Appeals and is attempting to be certified in accordance with section ten of this article to receive public campaign financing from the fund. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Person: means an individual, partnership, committee, association and any other organization or group of individuals. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Qualifying contribution: means a contribution received from a West Virginia registered voter of not less than $1 nor more than $100 in the form of cash, check or money order, made payable to a participating candidate or the candidate'. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- Qualifying period: means the period during which participating candidates may raise and spend qualifying contributions in order to qualify to receive public campaign financing. See West Virginia Code 3-12-3
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Voter: shall mean any person who possesses the statutory and Constitutional qualifications for voting. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
(b) Each qualifying contribution shall be acknowledged by a written receipt that includes:
(1) The printed name of the participating candidate on whose behalf the contribution is made and the signature of the person who collected the contribution for the candidate or his or her candidate's committee;
(2) For qualifying contributions of $25 or more, the contributor's signature, printed name, street address, zip code, telephone number, occupation and name of employer; and for qualifying contributions of less than $25, the contributor's signature, printed name, street address and zip code;
(3) A statement above the contributor's signature that:
(A) The contributor understands the purpose of the contribution is to assist the participating candidate in obtaining public campaign financing;
(B) The contribution was made without coercion;
(C) The contributor has not been reimbursed, received or promised anything of value for making the contribution; and
(4) One copy of the receipt shall be given to the contributor, one copy shall be retained by the candidate and one copy shall be sent by the candidate to the Secretary of State. A contribution which is not acknowledged by a written receipt in the form required by this subsection is not a qualifying contribution.
(c) During the qualifying period, a participating candidate or his or her candidate's committee must obtain at least five hundred qualifying contributions from registered West Virginia voters. A minimum of ten percent of the total number of qualifying contributions received by the candidate must be from each of the state's congressional districts.
(d) A participating candidate and each member of the candidate's immediate family who is a registered voter in this state may each make one qualifying contribution. A participating candidate may not use any other personal funds to satisfy the qualifying contributions requirements.
(e) A participating candidate may not reimburse, give or promise anything of value in exchange for a qualifying contribution.
(f) At the beginning of each month, a participating or certified candidate or his or her financial agent or committee shall report all qualifying contributions, expenditures and obligations along with all receipts for contributions received during the prior month to the Secretary of State. Such reports shall be filed electronically: Provided, That a committee may apply for an exemption in case of hardship pursuant to subsection (c) of section five-b, article eight of this chapter. If the candidate decides not to run for office, all unspent or unobligated qualifying contributions shall be sent to the State Election Commission for deposit in the fund. If the candidate decides to run for office as a nonparticipating candidate, the unspent or unobligated qualifying contributions shall be used in accordance with articles eight and twelve of this chapter.
(g) All qualifying contributions collected and all expenditures by a participating candidate or his or her committee shall be reported to the Secretary of State no later than two business days after the close of the qualifying period.
(h) (1) Individuals are limited to not more than one $100 contribution during the qualifying period.
(2) An individual may not contribute more than $1,000 in the aggregate in exploratory and qualifying contributions.
(3) All contributions to candidates participating in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Public Campaign Financing Program shall be collected by the candidates's designated financial agent.