ELEC proposes authorizing candidates to use campaign funds for security purposes

In response to a growing wave of violence against elected officials around the country, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) proposed a new regulation today that would explicitly authorize candidates and officeholders to use campaign money on personal security.

ELEC said in a release that it has historically already allowed the state, county, and local candidates it oversees to use their campaign accounts for such purposes, but the new regulation aims to “explicitly standardize” such spending.

According to the release, campaign money could be spent for security purposes as long as the candidate faces “ongoing dangers or threats that would not exist irrespective of the individual’s status or duties as a candidate or officeholder,” though it’s not clear how such threats would be defined or determined.

The regulation would cover security devices like locks, alarms, cameras, lighting, and fencing; security personnel and services; and cybersecurity software and devices. Such devices and services would officially be the property of the campaign, and would have to be dissolved or sold once the individual ends their campaign or leaves office.


https://newjerseyglobe.com/state-government/elec-proposes-authorizing-candidates-to-use-campaign-funds-for-security-purposes/