Accounting for Fees Received
In jurisdictions that require candidates, groups, or parties nominating for election to pay a fee (for discussion of nomination deposits, see Deposits), administrative machinery needs to be in place to ensure proper accounting for the nomination or registration fees received. This is required to assist in:
- validity checking of the nomination/registration;
- deterring potential fraud by electoral administration staff;
- ensuring the correct repayment of the fee if it is in the form of a deposit repayable on attainment of a specified level or proportion of votes in the election.
Holding of Deposit Fees
Fees received should be paid into bank or similar accounts rather than held on election administration premises. The nature of the account will depend on financing arrangements for the election. Particularly if the fee is in the form of a potentially refundable deposit, the electoral administration should ensure that a separate, and generally trust-style, account is available for depositing and holding these fees.
Receipting
Fees received from candidates and parties should be immediately receipted, with one copy of the receipt forwarded to the candidate or party and a second or further copies being retained for electoral administration records. A receipt copy should be attached to the original nomination/registration papers for reference.
If the fee received is in a form not allowable under nomination/registration requirements (e.g., a personal cheque or credit card transaction where cash or a certified cheque is required) the payment would preferably be immediately returned and not banked or otherwise held. Unless remedied before the deadline for nominations, such a defect would also result in the rejection of the nomination (see Errors in Nominations).
Maintenance of Records
As for any other election payments, bank deposit records and receipt books used for receipting nomination/registration fees (including unused receipts or deposit records) and records of any refunds should be retained intact to allow financial reconciliation and audit.
Fees in the Form of Refundable Deposits
If the fee is in the form of a refundable deposit, dependent on the party, group, or candidate receiving a specified number or proportion of votes, the vote counting system needs to include mechanisms that record, for each party, group, or candidate, whether this specified target has been achieved, and administrative machinery to issue such refunds must be in place.
Refunds would better be under the control of the election administration, rather than other state authorities. Payments could be made from either local, regional, or central offices of the electoral management body, depending on the administrative structure adopted. A record of the repayment or forfeiture of the deposit should be attached to and stored with the original nomination/registration papers and a receipt for any refund requested from the relevant parties or candidates.
Under such systems, all candidates, groups, and parties appearing on the ballot should be contacted as soon as final valid votes have been certified as correct and formally advised if their nomination/registration fee is to be refunded or forfeited. The legal framework (see Candidates Registration) would normally specify the manner and address of any deposit refunds. In many jurisdictions such financial matters may be within the responsibilities of candidate or business agents, formally appointed by candidates or parties under electoral legislation (see Party and Candidate Registration).
