The North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) has opened a public comment period on rules governing political party committees’ plans to sell goods or services. The rules will provide a mechanism for complying with state campaign finance law.
Party committee sales are exempt from finance limits
The Wake County Republican Party is holding a gun raffle (drawing on October 2). Back in February, the Duplin County Democratic Party hosted its annual cake auction. A quirk in state law makes purchases of those raffle tickets or cakes not subject to campaign finance restrictions.
North Carolina law (GS 163‑278.8A) exempts sales by party committees (such as county parties or party women’s organizations) from some campaign finance reporting and contribution limit requirements:
[T]he purchase price of goods or services sold by a political party executive committee or affiliated party committee as provided in subsection (b) of this section shall not be treated as a “contribution” for purposes of account‑keeping under G.S. 163‑278.8, for purposes of the reporting of contributions under G.S. 163‑278.11, or for the purpose of the limit on contributions under G.S. 163‑278.13
The law requires a committee holding a fundraising sale to submit a plan for the sale to the SBE executive director for approval.
In case you think this is just a backdoor way for Daddy Warbucks to dump a million dollars into a local party committee secretly, the law includes three restrictions:
- The total amount to be raised from sales under all plans by the committee cannot exceed $20,000 per election cycle.
- No one may make total purchases under the plan that exceed $50.
- Goods or services donated to the committee for the sales count as in-kind contributions.
Even so, sales events provide parties with more opportunities to raise funds.
The proposed rules
The SBE proposed rules for enforcing the law’s sales plan requirement on September 15. The rules require party committees to file a “Political Party Exempt Sales Plan” report with the SBE for any sales events they hold. The report must include:
- “The dates the exempt sales will be conducted.14
- “A general description of each item to be sold.15
- “The fair market value of each item to be sold.16
- “The price the political party will charge for each item sold.17
- “The estimated quantity of each item to be sold.18
- “The estimated sales receipts.”
The report must also include an acknowledgment by the committee’s treasurer of the restrictions imposed by law on party sales fundraising.
Public comments are open through November 16
If you wish to comment on the proposed rules, you have several options:
- Online: Public Comment Portal: Exempt Sales Plan Rule
- Email: rulemaking.sboe@ncsbe.gov (Make clear that you are commenting on the Exempt Sales Plan Rule.”)
- In-Person Public Hearing: 10 a.m. Oct. 5, 2026, at the State Board of Elections office on the third floor of the Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603.
- Mail: Attn: Rulemaking Coordinator, P.O. Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255 (Make clear that you are commenting on the Exempt Sales Plan Rule.”)
One thing that is not useful is submitting a comment that party committees should not be allowed to have exempt sales events. State law permits them. If you want to change that, contact your state legislator instead.
The public comment period closes at 11:59 p.m. on November 16, 2026.
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