April 2026 Newsletter: Quarterly Filing Deadlines

CONNECTICUT STATE ELECTIONS ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION

April 2026 Volume 2

April Quarterly Filing Due Friday, April 10, 2026

The filing period for the April quarterly report (April 10 Filing) commenced April 1, 2026 and ends April 10, 2026. All state central committees, town committees, political committees, and open candidate committees* must file this report regardless of financial activity. The filing must cover the period starting with the first day after the period covered by the last filing through March 31, 2026. Please note that committees that registered on or after April 1, 2026 are not required to file the April quarterly statement unless they had financial activity that occurred on or before March 31, 2026. As always, please review the posted Filing Calendars on our website for more details.

• Special election candidate committees are not required to file this report.

2026 CEP Guide Now Available

Our 2026 Guidebook is now available for statewide and General Assembly candidates who plan on participating in the Citizens' Election Program. We also have guidebooks for candidates running for judge Notice of eCRIS Downtime of probate, candidates running on April 2, 2026 for municipal office, traditional political committees, as well as a guide for party committees. Please note that our filing All guides and addenda may be found here. systems will not be available

on April 2 between nd7 a.m. and noon for scheduled maintenance. You should plan your filing accordingly.

Consider Your Committee Name Carefully!

CEP candidate committees are required to have a federal employer identification number (EIN) affiliated with their committee bank account as this number will be used to transfer the grant funds from the State into the committee's account and when these numbers don't match the committee name it can cause problems. Returning candidates are encouraged to change their committee name each year (Smith

2026 rather than Smith for the 22nd) and obtain a new EIN each cycle, which is an easy

process that can be done online through the IRS website. We have found that treasurers and campaign staff have an easier time keeping track of documentation for each campaign cycle when the committee names are different. It is also much easier for the State's financial processing systems to issue payments to campaigns when they have a different name and EIN for each cycle. Once a committee registers with SEEC, it cannot change its name. We recommend securing an EIN before registering your committee with SEEC to ensure your committee name is available. If a candidate still chooses to use the same committee name and the same EIN they used in the prior cycle, please be sure the new committee's name matches the previous committee's name exactly. Make sure that you have all of the documentation from the old EIN number that the bank may require to allow you to open a bank account with that committee name before you file a SEEC Form 1 with the old name. Committee names may not be changed once the SEEC Form 1 is filed.

Pre-Application Reviews for CEP General Assembly Campaigns Pre-Application Reviews for CEP General Assembly Campaigns

The Commission is offering one more opportunity for General Assembly campaigns to submit documentation for a pre-application review (PAR) of potential qualifying contributions if they have raised the qualifying contribution threshold plus an adequate buffer.  This is a great opportunity for campaigns, as the Commission has seen that this early review program greatly increases the likelihood that campaigns will avoid continuances during the grant application season which begins in late May. Committees who are interested in a PAR must submit their materials between April 1st and April 10th along with their April quarterly filing. Please contact your elections officer immediately to schedule an appointment if you are interested in coming in for a PAR. Time is running out!

2026 CEP Grant Application Deadlines

The 2026 CEP grant application calendars are now available. The calendars list the weekly grant application deadline dates and the corresponding Commission meeting dates. The General Assembly grant application calendar can be found here. When you are ready to apply for a grant, make an appointment with your elections officer. They will walk you through all of your next steps, including the required documents to prepare and bring with you. We also encourage you to read the grant application review checklist to make sure you have all things in order when it comes time for your appointment. Please note that we are located at 55 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. A conference room is available to us on the first floor of the building in order to facilitate our appointments.

CEP Grant Amounts - LAPIGs

For candidate committees applying early in the CEP season, please keep in mind that the Commission awards a partial initial grant until it is certain whether a campaign is entitled to a full initial primary or general election grant, and whether the general election grant should be an unopposed, partial, or full grant. Candidates for whom we have documentation establishing that they will have an opponent in the general election but for whom we do not know whether there will be a primary receive the primary grant amount, since it is lesser than the general election grant amount; therefore, it is the lesser applicable partial initial grant amount ("LAPIG"). If they are in a party-dominant district and a mem- ber of the dominant party, then they will get the party-dominant primary grant amount. Candidates who have no opposition in a primary or in the general election at the time they are approved for a grant will receive the unopposed general election grant because that amount is the LAPIG in such a case, since the unopposed grant amount is lower than the primary grant they would obtain if they face a primary. Once the Secretary of the State finalizes the ballots for candidates in multiple town districts and Commission staff has had the opportunity to contact all of the town clerks in the case of candidates in single town districts, the Commission will be able to release the remainder of the full grant amount, if appropriate. In past cycles, this has occurred during the first half of July. For those candidates who are unopposed in the general election at the time they are approved for a grant, the Commission will be ready to adjust your grant amount if you later gain a minor party or petitioning party opponent. Please be assured that the Commission is prepared, as in all previous election cycles, to release additional funds to your campaign should the ballot indicate that is appropriate.

Changes to the Law Regarding Organization Expenditures

Public Act 23-205 was passed and signed into law in 2023. Among the changes made by that Act were several to the definition of "organization expenditure" (General Statutes § 9-601 (25)). Perhaps the change that affected the most committees is the change to the type of event that committees can pay for to support CEP candidates. Formerly, committees could host and pay for events only if the candidate was present. At those events the candidate could fundraise for their own committee. The change to the law now provides that the candidate does not have to be present--only their campaign materials need to be present--and now no fundraising can take place at the events. So now if a candidate committee and a town committee, for example, want to host a joint event at which the candidate solicits funds for themselves, this can no longer be considered an organization expenditure for which the town committee pays, but must be structured as a joint event where each committee pays its pro rata share of the costs.

Public Act 25-26 was passed into law in 2025 and this made another significant change. Now town committees, state central committees, legislative caucus committees, or legislative leadership committees may electronically share links to a participating candidate committee's fundraising page, or to a fundraiser invitation, so long as the cost of the communication is de minimis. For example, a town committee may send an email with the fundraising link to its existing list of members asking them to support the candidate. Or it can post the fundraising link on its free Facebook page, if that page is maintained by volunteers and there is no added cost. The general rule is still that organization expenditures for party candidate listings cannot be solicitations. This exception is limited to communications of de minimis value and only to electronic communications (email, social media, text). See P.A. 25-26 Sec. 1.

Save the Date!

2026 CEP Virtual Trainings

Click HERE to sign up for our 2026 CEP Virtual Trainings! Check back for dates to be added as we go. Don't see a date that works for you? Give us a call and we will try to work with you.

Raising Contributions Class Code CEP 1.0: Raising Contributions Permissible Expenditures Focusing on Proper Funding Sources Class Code CEP 1.0: Class Code CEP 2.0: April 20th @ 12pm Focusing on Proper Funding Sources Focusing on Spending May 12th @ 12pm  April 20th @ 12 p.m.  April 21st @ 12 p.m. June 1st @ 12 pm  May 12th @ 12 p.m.  May 11th @ 12 p.m. June 16th @ 12 pm  June 1st @ 12 p.m.  May 19th @ 6:30 p.m. (NIGHT)

 June 16th @ 12 p.m.  June 2nd @ 12 p.m.  June 15th @ 12 p.m.

Terminating: Focusing on  June 23rd @ 6:30 p.m. (NIGHT) Terminating: Focusing on Closing Down Your Committee Closing Down Your Committee  July 13th @ 12 p.m. July 14th @ 12 pm  July 14th @ 12 p.m.  July 21st @ 12 p.m. July 20th @ 12 pm  July 20th @ 12 p.m.  July 28th @ 6:30 p.m. (NIGHT) August 4th @ 12 pm  August 4th @ 12 p.m.  August 3rd @ 12 p.m. August 17th @ 12 pm  August 17th @ 12 p.m.  August 18th @ 12 p.m. September 15th @ 12 pm  September 15th @ 12 p.m.  September 14th @ 12 p.m. November 9th @ 12 pm  November 9th @ 12 p.m.

Town Committees and State Central Committees: Remind Candidates to Register!

If your committee has endorsed candidates for the General Assembly, please advise the candidates, if they have not done so already, that they must register with the State Elections Enforcement Commission within ten (10) days of achieving ballot access. Candidates registering timely within this ten-day window avoid $100.00 late registration penalty. Check out our 2026 CEP Guidebook for more information on who is considered a candidate and what triggers this ten-day registration window. Candidates may register using a SEEC Form 1 electronically through eCRIS. The process is easy to complete and can be done from home. A video on registering a new committee on eCRIS is available here. The candidate, treasurer, and deputy treasurer, if applicable, use their eCRIS accounts and follow simple step-by-step instructions. If you do not already have an eCRIS account, you may set one up by going to the eCRIS homepage and selecting "Sign Up for eCRIS Account." Candidates may also deliver or mail an original SEEC Form 1 to the State Elections Enforcement Commission at 55 Farmington Avenue, 8th Floor, Hartford, CT 06105. The SEEC Form 1 can be found here. Please contact the State Elections Enforcement Commission at 860-256-2985 if you have any questions about registering as a candidate. Candidates requiring assistance to register electronically may call the eCRIS Help Line at 860-256-2930 during and after business hours.

Updated Amounts

Each committee may now make up to $15,010.00 in organization expenditures for senate candidates and up to $5,253.50 in organization expenditures for state representative candidates during the campaign.

Chairperson Appointments May Now Be Amended on eCRIS

Attention Town Committees, State Central Committees, and all Political Committees: If your committee has a new chairperson, the committee registration can now be amended on eCRIS! Once the new chairperson has an eCRIS username and password, they can select "Assume the Chairperson Role for an Existing Committee" from the Member Home page. You will then be given an opportunity to verify/edit your residential address to ensure it is correct on the updated registration. After verifying or editing your residential address, you can select your committee from the list and submit a request for approval.  Notice of the requested change will be sent to the chairperson, treasurer and, if applicable, deputy treasurer using the email addresses for them currently on file in eCRIS and SEEC staff will approve or reject the chairperson's request. When approved, the new chairperson can amend the registration, adding or deleting the treasurer and/or deputy treasurer when relevant.  To designate a new treasurer or deputy treasurer, they will need eCRIS accounts and you will need to know their eCRIS usernames, email address, and telephone numbers. Once the chairperson enters this information into the amended registration and submits the registration for certification, the treasurer and deputy treasurer will need to certify the registration. Email notifications are sent to treas- urers and deputy treasurers once it's time to certify a registration. After they certify it, the chairperson can certify and submit for SEEC approval.  Once the registration is "Pending Approval," SEEC staff will perform final verifications, such as treasurer and deputy treasur- er voter registration status, etc., and approve the registration.

If you need assistance, please call our eCRIS Help Desk at 860-256-2930.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT Staff Spotlight

Staff Spotlight CONTACT US

SEEC Main Line: We celebrate the following staff 860-256-2940 Although not a SEEC employee, we members for their years of state Email: seec@ct.gov would like to acknowledge the wonderful service: -------------------- Lead Legal Investigator work of Colleen Murphy at the Freedom SEEC Candidate Services Unit: Gilberto Oyola - 30 years of Information Commission, our sister 860-256-2985 DP Technical Analyst watchdog agency. SEEC recognizes the Email: public.finance@ct.gov Richard Bramande - 25 years ---------------------- extraordinary public service of Colleen, Staff Attorney SEEC Compliance Unit: who was the Executive Director and Kevin Ahern - 10 years 860-256-2925 General Counsel of the FOIC, as she Staff Attorney Email: seec.compliance@ct.gov concludes her 35-year career of state Joshua Foley - 10 years ---------------------

Paralegal Specialist eCRIS Help Desk: service. Her career was devoted to

Evelyn Gratacos - 10 years 860-256-2930 transparency, accountability, and Associate Accounts Examiner Email: seec.ecris.info@ct.gov the rule of law. Best wishes Colleen! Salman Munir - 10 years

Information Technology Analyst

Geetha Natarajan - 10 years

Disclosure and Audit Director

Linda Waterman - 10 years