COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the first time, the Ohio Elections Commission is set to offer official guidance to state political candidates on how they should handle Bitcoin and Venmo, two increasingly common ways of transferring money.
Candidates running for local or state offices can accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but must guarantee that whoever gave it to them is eligible to make campaign contributions in Ohio, according to a draft legal advisory set to be approved by the elections commission on Thursday.
It also must be reported as an in-kind contribution — a term that applies to non-cash contributions like food or services — but subject to maximum contribution limits as if it were a cash contribution, the draft advisory says. The value of the cryptocurrency, which can fluctuate wildly based on market forces, would be calculated based on how much it was worth when the campaign received it. Individual donors in Ohio can gave a maximum of $13,704 annually to a single statewide or state legislative candidate.
And when it comes to Venmo or other similar smartphone apps that can be used to directly send someone money, candidates can use them, but must set up a separate account to keep their personal and campaign funds separate. There are similar rules for traditional bank accounts.
Phil Richter, the director of the Ohio Elections Commission, said the advisories are being issued mostly as a precaution, in response to isolated questions. Campaign finance attorneys consulted by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer similarly said they weren’t aware of the issue coming up in Ohio frequently.
“Venmo hasn’t really come up, and Bitcoin hasn’t either, but the concern was that it would become more of an issue, and the best approach was to stake out a position now before we got too far down the pike,” Richter said.
The Ohio Elections Commission interprets state campaign-finance law, and also makes findings on potential violations, when necessary, reporting them for prosecution.
The Federal Elections Commission, which interprets and enforces campaign-finance laws for federal candidates, first issued guidance regarding Bitcoin in 2014, at the time allowing candidates to accept up to $100 in the digital currency from each donor. If the Bitcoin were to go up in value — $100 in Bitcoin obtained in 2014 would be worth more than $15,000 today — the campaign could accept the profit, reporting it like any other investment.
The FEC also issued guidance regarding the payment of political contributions by text message in 2012, requiring campaigns to track contributions to report the identifies of donors of $200 or more, as long as that person provided their name, address, occupation and the name of their employer.