Purpose:

The Department of Elections (ELECT) was formed in 2014 to conduct the State Board of Election’s administrative and programmatic operations and other duties consistent with its delegated authority.

Chapter 725 of the 2025 Acts of Assembly directed the Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT) to provide a report to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by October 1, 2025, on a plan for the replacement of the Committee Electronic Tracking (COMET) and the Campaign Finance Management (CFM) systems.

Background:

ELECT currently provides for campaign finance filing and reporting through a system comprised of the following three components:

1. Committee Electronic Tracking (COMET). COMET is used by candidates, and advocacy and political groups to create committees and for the electronic filing of scheduled and special reports.

2. Campaign Finance Management (CFM). CFM allows ELECT staff to accept or reject the required Statements of Organization entered in COMET, to set up filing or reporting schedules for committee types, process penalties assessed on committees, and to store documents and notes on the committees.

3. Campaign Finance Reports (CFR). CFR enables the display of reports for public view.

The COMET and CFR components were put into use in 2012. CFM was put into use in 2019. The changes made and as well as efforts to amend campaign finance laws over the ast decade have clarified a need to modernize the current components to ensure adaptability and transparency.