The law, which goes into effect on January 1, will eliminate the current daily fine of $50 for each day a finance report goes unfiled. Instead, a citation may be filed by the elections commissioner under certain circumstances, with the citations including the pre-existing $50 per day fine and mandatory report training. The maximum fine will be capped at 100 days, which accumulates into $5,000.

Political action committees could be a major target of the law. In November 2020, a PAC called Citizens for a Better Future filed a report two years after it was supposed to be due. According to Delaware’s Department of Elections, the $41,400 fine that resulted from the filing has yet to be paid. Other PACs that have yet to pay their fines include the Black Caucus PAC, which owes more than $140,000 in fines.

If the candidate or PAC cannot pay the fine that they accrue, they could be able to renegotiate with the elections commissioner. Once a missing report has been filed, the outcome of the negotiations can determine whether or not the target will pay the fine in its entirety.

The sponsor of the legislation, which was proposed by the Department of Elections, said allowing scofflaws to avoid fines was never his intent.

“They shouldn’t get off the hook, and the Department of Elections needs to be more aggressive in pursuing these…. It certainly was never my intent to help give someone a break who flagrantly disregarded the law,” said Senator Trey Paradee.

Paradee said he was “shocked” and “disgusted” when told by the Associated Press about the unfiled reports and uncollected fines.

“I had no idea that you had committees that were just that far out of compliance,” he said.

As of last month, there were six cases in which pre-primary reports due in August and September of 2020, and six cases in which pre-general election reports due in October 2020, had not been filed. There were another 15 cases in which annual reports for 2020, which were due January 20 of this year, had not been filed.

But the attorney general’s office has received only one campaign finance referral from the Department of Elections since January 1, 2020, according to spokesperson Mat Marshall. Marshall also said the attorney general’s office was unaware of any pre-2020 referral, even though campaign finance documents show significant violations in previous years.

Elections commissioner Anthony Albence declined several interview requests from the AP.

“The department is fully aware of the political committees … that have failed to file required campaign finance reports, and is also aware of the amounts of outstanding fines owed by the political committees’ treasurers and/or candidates that have accrued due to non-filed (and late filed) campaign finance reports,” Albence wrote in a November 18 email. “The department is working diligently to address and resolve these matters, while also simultaneously administering its many other priorities and responsibilities.”

Following the AP’s queries, however, Albence sent out new violation notices to several committees informing them he would refer their cases to the attorney general’s office “as required by law,” if the outstanding reports were not filed by December 30.

Recipients also were told to contact the Department of Elections to arrange payments for outstanding fines.

“Your failure to resolve this outstanding indebtedness to the state may result in a collection action being filed against you in a Delaware court,” the letters added.

Targets of the letters include Va’Shun Turner, a former Wilmington councilman and 2020 city treasurer candidate who owed more than $144,000; and Ronnell Page, a former Wilmington council candidate who owed more than $120,000.

Page filed his three outstanding reports one day after the Associated Press questioned him.

“I’m totally blown away by this conversation,” said Page, adding he never received violation letters from the Department of Elections while acknowledging that his wife, who was his campaign treasurer, received two email reminders in January in advance of the deadline for the 2020 annual report.

“There’s gotta be something that can be done,” Page said of his outstanding fines. “That number is astronomical.”

Page could very well get his wish.

The December 30 deadline mentioned in the latest violation notices is mere hours before the new reporting law takes effect.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.