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Election Day !

© Hunter

It is Election Day and You have WON !!! or You have Lost!

Either way, you have a lot of work left to do. The campaign is not entirely over . . .until you tie up all the loose ends, pay your debts, thank your campaign workers, and justify your bank statements. It would be a mistake to think that because the election is behind you, win or lose, that you are free to just go home and put your feet up.

You are due a celebration party, or a good nights sleep, but then you need to roll up your sleeves and get back to work. If you don't ever want to run for elective office again, or do business, or live in the community, or raise a family, well then, perhaps you need not worry about your after election responsibilities.

First of all, your most important obligation is to file your last FEC Report. Federal Elections require a final report be submitted within 30 days after the election. State and local elections vary, so you may want to check it out. The failure to file these reports if they are legally required can result in large fines.

Among the things you need to do are to raise money and negotiate to pay off your debts, send thank you cards to your donors and volunteers and campaign staff, return or sell the office equipment, let the post office know where you can be reached, and be sure all your campaign bills are paid.

The next most important thing to do is to sit down with your campaign treasurer and/or accountant and make a list of the outstanding debts. You need to know that some will be willing to discount what you owe and take a contribution write-off, but remember that campaign laws determine the amounts that can be contributed.

You will need to contact each of these people to determine what money you owe them and how much if any, they will discount. Never assume anything here!

You will at this point need to work with your creditors on a payment schedule. . . the key to working with these people is communication in letting them know that you intend to fulfill your obligations to them.

It also must be known that the toughest money to raise is the money needed to pay off a lost campaign . . . and the reverse is true of a winning one.

At this point, you should know how much you owe and when you owe it. The easiest

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