Fair Election Fund and Commission
Baltimore County’s Fair Election Fund provides matching funds to qualifying candidates for County Executive and for County Council. The Fund was established by Bill 102-21, which allowed the creation of a public financing system in the County. The Fund will open for the 2026 election cycle, with the first disbursements allowed by law in June 2025.
Make a donation to the Fund
Residents may make donations to the Fund, which may go toward Maryland State Board of Elections-certified candidates who opt to participate in the program. Those wishing to make donations to the Fund may do so by check payable to Baltimore County, Maryland. Print and submit this coupon with your donation.
Registration process
- To become certified in the Fund, an applicant candidate must be a Baltimore County resident running for County Executive or the County Council.
- Prior to raising a contribution governed by the Fund, an applicant candidate must:
- Register the Public Finance Committee with the Maryland Board of Elections Campaign Reporting Information System
- File a Notice of Intent to Qualify with the State Board of Elections.
- Once the initial registration and contribution requirements are satisfied to become eligible for Fund financing, all documents to determine certification of a participating candidate must be filed with the State Board.
View What Candidates Have Applied for the Program
To view all campaign committees that have been certified or have filed an intent to become certified to participate in the Program:
- Navigate to the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information system.
- In the Committee Details box, select the dropdown for Committee Type.
- Select the Public Financing Committee option.
- Select the Search button.
important information by topic
Please refer to our summary guide for information on participating in the program. The following summary of important topics is provided as general information only and is a supplement to the summary guide; it does not purport to be legal advice. Questions involving application of the Fair Election Fund (FEF) law to your particular circumstances should be addressed to a lawyer.
County Executive and County Council.
How to Qualify
In order to qualify for matching funds, candidates must collect from County residents a certain number of qualifying contributions, as well as a certain total amount.
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County Executive candidates—Must have collected from County residents at least 550 qualifying contributions and an aggregate total of $50,000 in qualifying contributions.
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County Council candidates—Must have collected from County residents at least 150 qualifying contributions and an aggregate total of $15,000 in qualifying contributions.
Additionally, private contributions from an individual may not exceed $250 during an election cycle. Candidates shall not accept private contributions from any group or organization, including:
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Political action committees
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Corporations
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Labor organizations
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State or local central committee of a political party
Matching Fund Tiers
For County Executive
The maximum public contribution is $750,000 per election.
| Matching Ratio for Public Dollars | Qualified Contribution Threshold |
|---|---|
| 6 to 1 | First $50 |
| 4 to 1 | $51 to $100 |
| 2 to 1 | $101 to $150 |
| 0 | $150 to 250 |
For County Council
The maximum public contribution is $80,000 per election.
| Matching Ratio for Public Dollars | Qualified Contribution Threshold |
|---|---|
| 4 to 1 | First $50 |
| 3 to 1 | $51 to $100 |
| 2 to 1 | $101 to $150 |
| 0 | $150 to 250 |
Individuals first become a candidate for public office by filing a certificate of candidacy with the Baltimore County Board of Elections.
To then participate in the Fair Election Fund, a candidate must:
- Register a Public Finance Committee in the State Board of Election’s electronic filing system—the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System (MDCRIS);
- File a Notice of Intent to qualify for public funding with the State Board (Note: Applicant candidates cannot pay for campaign expenses with any campaign finance account other than the candidate’s publicly funded campaign account after filing a Notice of Intent);
- Open a publicly funded campaign account at a bank;
- Receive approval of the candidate’s Public Finance Committee from the State Board;
- Raise a minimum number of and dollar amount of “qualifying contributions” from County residents. (Note: Candidates are not allowed to take contributions before receiving approval from the State Board to participate in the FEF); and
- File required periodic campaign finance report(s) and documentation with the State Board.
The maximum public contribution from the Fund to a certified candidate is calculated together for the primary election and for the general election (the election cycle). For example, the maximum a candidate for County Executive can receive is $1,500,000 in public contributions for the election cycle. The maximum for a County Council candidate is $160,000.
A candidate who wins the nomination after receiving County matching funds may continue to receive matching funds from the County up to the maximum amount during a contested general election.
The maximum public contribution is not to be confused with the Baltimore County Fair Election Fund’s spending caps for participants. See the next question.
A certified candidate for County Executive may not make expenditures for either a primary or general election of more than $1,400,000 from their citizen funded campaign account. Calculated together, this is $2,800,000.
A certified candidate for County Council may not make expenditures for either a primary or general election of more than $150,000 from their citizen-funded campaign account. Calculated together, this is $300,000.
A reporting of expenditures made to the State Board of Elections will be provided to the Director to enforce the spending cap.
For example, summarizing this question regarding spending caps and the previous question regarding maximum matching funds, a certified candidate for County Council can receive up to $160,000 in public contributions for the entire cycle, but also may not make expenditures from any source totaling more than $300,000 for the entire cycle.
All funds in the Fair Election Fund are:
- Money appropriated by the Baltimore County Council;
- Any unspent money remaining in a certified candidate’s citizen-funded campaign account after the candidate is no longer a candidate;
- Any public contribution returned to the fund;
- Any fines collected;
- Any earnings on money in the fund; and
- Voluntary donations made directly to the fund.
Participating in the Program in the general election even if a candidate chose not to do so during the primary election is not prohibited. However, the qualifying period for a candidate to be able to participate in the Program ends 45 calendar days before the primary election. Therefore, unless a candidate has qualified to participate prior to the primary election taking place, they would be precluded from participating in the general election.
A contribution receipt is required for all contributions received, eligible and qualifying, during a candidate’s public financing campaign. Failure to submit a receipt for an eligible contribution from a non-resident would not result in the loss of matching contributions otherwise earned; however, it could result in a fine to the campaign for violating the law after an audit is performed if the candidate cannot prove who made the eligible contribution and for how much.
Contributions are recognized by individual resident rather than by a single contribution amount. The $150 in aggregate donations that were made in 10 separate contributions would qualify as one individual contribution. It should also be noted that each resident may only contribute up to $250 in any given election cycle, regardless of how many single contributions they make.
A candidate may continue to receive matching funds for qualifying contributions received during the primary election up to the primary election. A candidate must file a final reconciliation report after the County Board certifies the results of the primary election. Candidates who request matching funds for qualifying contributions received up to the primary election will receive those funds once the matching funds payments are authorized for disbursement by the State Board of Elections. Authorized disbursements for matching funds received up to the primary election will be made to all candidates even if they are unsuccessful in the primary election.
All unspent funds remaining in the certified candidate’s publicly funded campaign must be returned to the Fair Election Fund at the end of the candidate’s contested campaign. For candidates who win a contested primary election and continue on to a contested general election, they may retain the unspent funds and continue to receive eligible contributions up to the general election for the covered office for which they are campaigning.
Within 30 calendar days after the County Board certifies the results of the primary election, a participating candidate who is not going to be on the ballot for the general election must return any unspent money to the Fund.
On or before December 31 after the general election, a participating candidate must return any unspent money to the Fund.
The contribution must match the name on the credit card. The contribution card states that the contribution is made from personal funds by the individual. If both names appear on the report, then it is an invalid contribution. The campaign needs to prevent this from happening. There are programs that bar the use of certain symbols and words.
Yes. So long as each candidate receives no more than $250 from an individual during a four-year election cycle, the individual can contribute to as many qualified candidates as they so choose.
To view all campaign committees that have been certified or have filed an intent to become certified to participate in the program:
- Select the link below.
- Select the “Committee Type” dropdown box.
- Select the second-to-last option, “Public Financing Committee.”
- Select "Search."
Fair Election Fund-funded candidates and volunteers can campaign together with other campaigns and hand out another candidate’s literature only if their funds are not used at any point during the canvassing (i.e., volunteer payments, travel expenses, etc.). The important point is that public funds cannot be used to benefit another candidate.
There are no prohibitions against a non-Fair Election Fund candidate or volunteer passing out another candidate’s (even Fair Election Fund candidate) literature.
Yes.
About the Commission
The Fair Election Fund Commission consists of nine members who must be confirmed by the County Council. The Commission is responsible for estimating the amount of funding needed during the upcoming 2026 election cycle and making annual recommendations to the County Executive on the level of appropriations needed in each forthcoming budget. Appointees will serve four-year terms. Review the Commission's regulations.
Eligibility to Serve
To be eligible to serve on the Commission, individuals must be a resident and registered voter in Baltimore County. In addition, individuals must not be:
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A candidate for public office in the previous, current or next election cycle
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A Chair or Treasurer of an open campaign account
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An elected or appointed member of a local or state central committee of a political party
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A lobbyist registered with the County or the State
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