In order to apply and be approved for public funds, a candidate must have received a minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions from individual residents of Hawaii. A qualifying campaign contribution means an aggregate monetary contribution of $100 or less, by any person during any matching payment period (For a primary election, from January 1 of the year of a general election through the day of the primary election, or nine months prior to a special election through the day of a special election; and, for a general election, from January 1 of the year of a general election through the day of the general election). Qualifying campaign contributions do not include loans or in-kind contributions. The minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions for the respective offices are as follows: Governor - $100,000 Mayor Prosecuting Attorney County Council State Senate - $2,500 State House of Representative - $1,500 Office of Hawaiian Affairs - $1,500 Board of Education - $500 For example, a candidate for Governor must receive a minimum of $100,000 in qualifying campaign contributions for the primary election to be eligible for $100,000 in public funds for the primary election. Once the minimum amount is reached, qualifying campaign contributions will be matched dollar for dollar up to the maximum amount of public funds available for each election. A candidate must obtain the minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions only once for the election period. However, the candidate shall not receive public funds for a primary election if the candidate does not obtain the minimum amount of qualifying campaign contributions before the date of the primary election. Refer to the Public Funding Guidebook Candidate Committees for information regarding qualifying and applying for public funds. The minimum qualifying campaign contribution amounts can be found in Section 11-219, Hawaii Revised Statutes. |
