OCALA, FL (352Today.com) – Open up Facebook anytime between now and election day (August 18, 2026, in case you didn’t know), and you’re bound to see posts, reels or conversations swirling around the topic of money. But not just any money–political campaign donation money.

Where does it come from? Who donates to candidates running for the Marion County Public Schools or the Marion County Board of Commissioners? Is the money traceable? How does the public find out how much money a candidate has raised?

They say “follow the money” for a reason when it comes to politics. But how exactly does that work in local races right here in Marion County?

It is election season again, and candidates for county commission, school board and other offices are out raising funds. If you’ve ever wondered where that money comes from, who’s allowed to give it and whether you can actually see it, you’re not alone.

Here’s a straightforward explainer.

First Things First: You Can’t Just Start Collecting Checks

Before a candidate can accept even a single donation or spend a dime on yard signs or ads, they have to file a specific form with the Marion County Supervisor of Elections.

“The first step is to file what’s called a DS-DE 9; that’s your intent to run for office,” said Supervisor of Elections for Marion County, Wesley Wilcox. “It identifies a campaign treasurer. [It] could be yourself, but it’s going to identify that. It’s also going to identify your campaign depository. But that is the first document that you must file to run for office, basically for either a local or a state office. You must file that.”

In other words, to run for office, you must file the paperwork first, then you can open the campaign bank account and start raising money. Many candidates fund their own campaign with personal monies to get things going, according to Wilcox.

“Contributions can be from yourself… You could completely self-fund,” Wilcox said.

So, Who Can Donate–And How Much?

Pretty much any U.S.-based person or group can donate, with a few important limits.

“There’s really no limitations [when it comes to] stateside domestic,” Wilcox explained.

The big no-no? Foreign money. You can’t accept contributions from someone in another country.

“People not from the country, not U.S. people. You know, you can’t accept [funds from them]. I can’t take contributions from somebody in Russia or something like that,” Wilcox said.

For most local races in Marion County, the limit is $1,000 per donor per election. That means a supporter could give $1,000 for the primary and another $1,000 for the general if the candidate advances. Businesses, Political Action Committees (PACs) and individuals all follow the same cap (candidates can put in as much of their own money as they want).

“You’re limited to a 1000-dollar contribution per election. So, if you’re running in the primary, you can accept $1,000 from an entity, and then if you win in the primary and you’re moving on to the general, you could receive another 1,000 from that same entity,” Wilcox said.

Where Does the Money Usually Come From?

The Supervisor of Elections office doesn’t analyze patterns, but they do make sure every report is complete and accurate.

“Our job, as it relates to reports, is completeness. Completeness meaning, you know, like if somebody gave you $500, did you provide that person’s occupation if it were an individual? A businessman is not considered an appropriate occupation,” said Wilcox. “So you’ve got to actually put that they own some sort of business, or they work at this particular business. So, our charge and authority in this is from a completeness perspective. Therefore, we don’t make an analysis really of where the actual contributions come from.”

How Transparent Is All This?

“Extremely transparent,” according to Wilcox.

Candidates have to report every single contribution and expenditure, even $1 donations. For bigger gifts, they need to include the donor’s occupation. All of this information goes public on the Vote Marion website.

“I think it’s extremely transparent from a local candidate perspective. You know, a candidate is required to post all contributions, even if it’s a dollar,” Wilcox said. “They’re required to post all expenditures. You know, even if it’s a dollar. So, all of that information is reported out on votemarian.gov, and furthermore, at least and especially from a local perspective, not only are voters looking at campaign finance information, but opponents are looking at campaign finance information. Therefore, if an opponent knows that you received a particular contribution and you didn’t record it, there’s a mechanism for filing a complaint with the election commission, and so you know there’ll be complaints filed if you did not comply with all the transparency requirements of Florida campaign finance.”

Want to see it for yourself? Go to votemarion.gov, click on the Campaign Quick Links section, and head to Financial Reports. You can look up any current candidate and see exactly who gave what and how the money was spent.

What Most Voters Don’t Realize

Wilcox pointed out that, in his view, a lot of regular voters don’t even know this public database exists.

“I suspect there’s a good portion of our registered voters that don’t know that this campaign finance system exists,” he said. “By educating people about it being out there, you know the the politicals know, the candidates know, a lot of the voters that are kind of politically dialed in a little bit, they know, but I would suspect the average voter, a lot of them probably don’t recognize that there is a campaign finance system, and so by educating them where it is and how to get to it, that would be the big thing that I would want everybody to know.”

On whether public disclosures on the election website provide the public any insight into outside influence, Wilcox said he does not know.

“Obviously, you can see exactly who has contributed to a campaign, how their money was spent. Influence? I don’t know. I think that that relies back on the candidate, and how that affects them. So, I’m not going to speculate how that even might even happen,” Wilcox said.

The good news is that the system is designed so you can follow the money if you want to. It won’t tell you how a candidate will vote on every issue, but it does show who is backing them and how they’re spending the funds.

Next time you hear about a local race, take a few minutes to check the reports. It’s one of the most accessible ways to get a clearer picture of what’s happening behind the campaign signs.