Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas announced a major upgrade to Vermont’s Online Campaign Finance System and Lobbying Information System today.
The office’s Elections Division, staffed by a team of six, is tasked with protecting the integrity of campaigning and elections in Vermont. The division administers Vermont’s elections and oversees campaign finance reporting and lobbyist disclosure via online registration systems.
“Campaign finance and lobbyist disclosure are two areas where transparency and accountability are crucial to a healthy democracy,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “Vermonters need to know how money is flowing to candidates when they’re running for office, and to legislators and other elected and appointed officials when they’re in office.”
Under Vermont Law, candidates running for elected office that meet certain thresholds are required to file campaign finance reports with the Secretary of State’s office at specific intervals throughout the year. During the 2024 election cycle, the office began publishing new campaign finance reports after each filing deadline, collecting sets of public information together in one place to show those candidates who had filed their reports, and those who had not.
Similarly, throughout the legislative session that runs from January to May, lobbyists are required to register with the Secretary of State’s Office and disclose their financial activity, including advertising, telemarketing, contracts, and gifts given to legislators or administrative officials and/or their immediate family.
The Campaign Finance System received more than 14,000 campaign finance disclosure reports from candidates, parties, and committees between 2014 and 2024, and nearly 2,800 during 2023 and 2024 alone. The Lobbying Information System was used by 727 lobbyists representing 563 employers during the 2023-2024 biennium. Both new systems allow the public to more easily search through these records, allowing for greater transparency and access.
“These online systems were aging, and we’re glad to be modernizing them to improve the functionality and user experience,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “Better online systems ultimately means more and higher quality information in the hands of the public, which supports our mission of strengthening Vermont’s democracy through government transparency.”
A competitive bidding process was initiated in 2023 for an upgrade of both the Campaign Finance and Lobbying Information Systems. ReFrame Solutions, a software design company specializing in public service platforms, submitted the winning bid for the campaign finance system. Stonewall Solutions was the vendor who did the lobbyist disclosure system work. Both projects were completed on schedule and within budget.
“This has been a big effort for my team, doing all of the behind-the-scenes work to bring these new systems online while simultaneously administering the 2024 General Election cycle,” said Elections Division Director Seán Sheehan. “I’d also like to thank our partners at ReFrame, Stonewall, and Vermont’s Agency of Digital Services. Modernizing these systems will make for a smoother experience on the part of candidates and lobbyists filing their information, and crucially, for the public in accessing that information.”
The new Campaign Finance System can be found at: https://campaignfinance.vermont.gov/
The new Lobbying Information System can be found at: https://lobbying.vermont.gov/
Source: 1.15.2025. Montpelier, VT – Vermont Secretary of State. https://sos.vermont.gov
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