On November 5, the Florida Secretary of State notified that Florida Green Party that because the party’s financial report had been due on November 2, and it was not actually filed until November 3, the party owes a fine of $10,000. The party has appealed this decision. The party treasurer tried to file the report on November 2 electronically but computer problems made that impossible. The party points out that the report was only 15 hours late, and that the fine seems excessive, given that the party’s income and expenditures for the period covered by the Report were both under $1,000. As far as is known, the Florida Secretary of State has not yet ruled on the party’s appeal.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
The fine appears to be based on FS 106.29(3)(b) which sets a fine of $10,000 per day for a campaign report due from a state executive committee on the Friday before a general election.
Otherwise, for a report due immediately before an election, the fine is $500/day with a cap of 25% of contributions. For other dates, the fine is $50/day.
The Libertarian Party was fined $70,000, because their report was 7 days late.