Author: Benjamin Katz

  • About the FL DS-DE 48

    Applies To: Florida

    The Florida DS-DE 48 Report
    allows Elected Officials to report transfers out of campaign accounts into a special
    Office Account to pay for specific items or activities for a given reporting period. The information on
    this report must be hand
    entered into the state’s system.

    Schedule Groups

    • Disbursements: Use this schedule group for any transfers from your Office Account. 
    • Receipts: Use this schedule group for any remaining funds from the previous campaign that will be transferred into your Office Account. 

    To file your report, you must generate and download the PDF to hand enter the data into the Office Accounts portal account.

    For further reading, please check out the Office Accounts User Guide and the FL State Campaign Finance Manual.


  • About the Maricopa County CFR

    Applies To: Arizona

    Applies to: Maricopa County, Arizona

    The Maricopa County CFR is used to report Expenses. Currently this report only supports the following schedule at this time:

    SchB1: Disbursements for Operating Expenses

    To File Your Report to Maricopa County:

    1. Download the PDF file
    2. Email the downloaded PDF to: campfin@risc.maricopa.gov

  • How to Find the Entity ID Number for a Record?

    For a variety of reasons, you may need to find the Entity ID associated with records in your ISP account.  The Entity ID is a unique identifier for each Individual, Organization or Other Entity in your database.

    The Entity ID can be located in the following ways.

    1. Generate a Financial Transaction Report, and include the column Entity ID in your export format. (More information on including columns is here.)

    2. Generate an export using Advanced Search or Quick Lists. Using the export format Donor Summary, or Detailed Fundraising Export will automatically include the ID column.  If you are using a custom export format created within your ISP account, make sure that it includes this column (see above).

  • When Are the Denver Filing Deadlines?

    Applies To: Colorado

    Applies To: Denver

    Below are deadlines for Denver, Colorado compliance report filing.

    The Filing Deadline information provided here is offered only as a
    reference aide. The provided deadline information may contain
    inaccuracies and may not include all special elections or deadlines. For
    agency specific details please visit the Denver Campaign Finance website .

    • 12/05/25  Post-Election Report
    • 01/31/2025: Semi-Annual Report/Year-End Report
    You’re able to add Filing Deadlines found in ISP to your own digital calendar with our Calendar Feed tool.
    To see more information about Alabama compliance report filing with ISP, please visit our Alabama Filing and FAQ Resources page.

  • How to Set up a Non-committee Filer

    Applies To: Federal Election Commission

    What is a Non-Committee Filer?

    Individuals, groups, corporations, and labor organizations that are not registered as political committees are sometimes subject to filing requirements. These are called non-committee filers.

    How do I set up my ISP account for a Non-Committee Filer?

    1. In the filer’s Organization record, set the Organization Type to Other.
    2. Navigate to Reports, and then Compliance. At the bottom of the page, click on Related Pages, then Manage Filers. 
    3. Add your organization as a filer and enter the Filer ID. Or, if it’s already indicated as your filer, ensure the Filer ID is there.
  • How to Set a Major Donor Filer

    Applies To: California
    The CA-461, 461-Reverse, and 497 all have use cases that apply to Major Donors. They can request that you file these reports on their behalf after they’ve reached the threshold to qualify as a Major Donor. Any record type (individual, organization, or political committee) can be set as a Major Donor filer.
    1. Ensure the Major Donor has an entity record in ISP.
    2. Go to Reports > Compliance > Related Pages > Manage Filers.
    3. Click on Add Filer, select the Entity & Click Add Filer.
    4. Click on the Entity Name from the Filers List, and add the Major Donor Filer ID there.

    We use this two-step process to add a Filer ID on purpose to ensure that the filer is added purposefully and intentionally.

  • About the NC Form 2210 Report

    Applies To: North Carolina

    The NC Form 2210A/B/C is for Committees not registered in North Carolina (such as a Federal PAC, or Individual) that makes Independent Expenditures (IEs) for Candidates or Ballot Issues in North Carolina.

    There are three forms associated with the Form 2210:

    Form 2210-A (Cover Page)

    The information on this page is populated based on the information associated with the Filer Record.

    • If the filer is an individual, the Individual box will check under Entity Type
    • If the filer is a business, type Non-Profit, the Nonprofit Organization box will check
    • Otherwise, the Other Organization box will check

    Custodian of Records information will pull from the entity linked as Recordkeeper/Recordkeeper Of relationship to the Filer Entity Record.

    If the Paper Only box is checked, the Date Filed field on the Cover Page will not populate.

    Versions:

    • Standard: itemizes ALL contributions, expenses and IEs if more than $100 in aggregate in the period
    • 48 Hour Report: itemizes contributions of more than $1000 in aggregate in the period and IEs if more than $5000 in aggregate in the period

    Form 2210-B (Donations for Independent Expenditures)

    Transaction Type: Monetary Contribution

    Form 2210-C (Incurred Costs for Independent Expenditures)

    Transaction Types: Expense (on the Standard version of the report), Support/Oppose Memo with either tag IE to Support or IE to Oppose associated with either an Expense or Accrued Expense Payment (on all versions of the report)

    Please ensure transactions intended to be Independent Expenditures have a Support/Oppose Memo to the appropriate Candidate or Ballot Issue (rather than the Candidate or Ballot Committee)

    There are two versions of the report:

    • 48 Hour Report: This version must be filed before an election but after the period covered by the last report due before that election.
      This version:
      • itemizes contributions of more than $1000 in aggregate in the period
      • itemizes expenses and/or IEs if more than $5000 in aggregate in the period
    • Standard: This version must be filed on the same schedule as political committees until the end of the election.
      This version:
      • itemizes ALL contributions
      • itemizes expenses and/or IEs if more than $100 in aggregate in the period

    You must email the downloaded .csb file to: Campaign.Reporting@ncsbe.gov

    48 Hour Reports may be filed via fax or email to the relevant non-State Board

    48 Hour Reports filing with the State Board of Elections may be sent by fax to:
    (919) 715-0135
    or email to:
    Campaign.Reporting@ncsbe.gov

  • How Do I Enter in Inkind Contributions for Independent Expenditures?

    Applies To: Federal Election Commission – Political Action Committees (PACs)

    On rare occasions, a PAC may get an inkind contribution in the form of Independent Expenditure. For example, a related organization supplied staff to make calls to potential voters. The calls were considered an Independent Expenditure (IE), and the  donated staff time is considered an inkind contribution.

    However, there are a few factors to consider:

    1. On the FEC Report, inkind contributions are typically reported as cash-impact on both Schedule A and Schedule B. This insures no overall impact to the committee’s cash on hand
    2. In this instance, the IE needs to be reported as a memo, as the filer did not spend any money. That means the corresponding inkind contribution must also be reported as a memo so that cash on hand is correct

    To ensure proper reporting, there is some specific data entry:

    1. Create the inkind contribution from the related organization, ensuring to add tag: For Independent Expenditure
    2. Create an Non-Monetary Expense to the same related organization. At the top of the expense, be sure to check the IsMemo box
    3. On the Non-Monetary Expense, add Support/Oppose Memos to the Candidates or Ballot Measures that the IE was made for. Ensure the S/O Memos have either tag: IE to Support or IE to Oppose

    Doing this will ensure:

    • The inkind contribution pulls to Schedule A as a Memo
    • The inkind contribution WILL NOT pull to Schedule B
    • The IE is properly reported on Schedule E with no cash impact

    Please remember, this scenario is quite rare; you should only enter transactions in this way if your related organization, legal counsel or FEC analyst instructed you to do so.

  • How Do I Efile With California?

    Applies To: California

    How do I Efile with California

    In order to E-file campaign finance reports with California, there are a few one-time administrative steps that need to be taken. Let us help you file California campaign finance reports within ISP.

    To begin with, your committee must file a Form 410. Form 410 is the Statement of Organization, which is the document by which a committee is formed and recognized by the State of California.

    Your Form 410 is filed with the California Secretary of State (and any applicable local jurisdictions in cases where filing is to a City or County) either on paper or by digitally signed PDF sent by email to the following contact information:

    • All Committees:

      Form 410 with original ink signature(s)

      Secretary of State
      Political Reform Division
      1500 11th Street, Rm 495
      Sacramento, CA 95814

      Form 410 with digital signature(s)

    • Secretary of State via email at: digitalfiling@sos.ca.gov
    • As a PDF attachment
    • Must contain a verified digital signature on the Signature Line.

    Please access the Secretary of State’s website for detailed instructions on how to submit the Form 410 with a digital signature.

    County & City Committees: You will also need to file a copy of your Form 410 with the local filing officer who will receive the original campaign statements.

    Receiving your Efiling credentials

    Once you have submitted your Form 410 to the Secretary of State (SOS), you will receive a Welcome Letter.  State Committees who submit their Form 410 with e-signature receive the Welcome Letter, including the e-filing password, along with the Committee ID.

    To find your committee ID number before you receive a Welcome Letter, visit the SOS website or enter your committee’s name in the Cal-Access database search bar.

    Committees who do not receive a welcome letter may fill out this form and return it to the SOS.  The Secretary of State will return your password via email.

    California E-filing ID and Password Issues

    If you receive an ID or password error when Efiling, you may need to confirm that you have the correct credentials, or reset them.  Unfortunately, ISP staff do not have access to CA passwords, and California’s website doesn’t have a quick and easy “Forgot Password” feature to retrieve or reset passwords.

    If you are having difficulty with your e-filing login information, please contact the Secretary of State directly for support:

    * Email passwordrequest@sos.ca.gov
    * Call the Cal-Online Help Desk 877-745-3453 or 916-653-7283
    * Cal-Online’s Helpful Tips for Getting Started

  • About the Denver CFR

    Applies To: Colorado

    The Denver Campaign Finance Report is a simple eFiling-only report for Expenditures and
    Contributions for Ballot Measures to be used with the SearchLight
    portal.

    A PDF will not generate when this report is run.

    To file your report, you must generate and download your efile to upload to your filing account.