Without state elections in 2020 and in a year when COVID-19 health restrictions cancelled many
fundraising events, public contractors so far have disclosed their fewest political contributions since they began filing annual reports with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) in 2006.

Contractors to date have reported just $7.8 million in contributions. That figure is currently 16 percent less than 2019 and is the lowest total of any year since 2006.

Jeff Brindle, ELEC’s Executive Director, emphasized that the 2020 total is preliminary because some
contractors still have not filed reports with ELEC. Last year’s figure is likely to end up the second lowest total if not the smallest, he said.

“We’ve seen signs that the COVID-19 crisis hurt political fund-raising in 2020. Many party committees
and candidates cancelled fund-raising events when the virus threat first emerged last spring,” Brindle said.

“Another factor for the decline is likely to be the lack of state elections in 2020.”