Asking ChatGPT a Legal Question

I’m serving as Treasurer for my county’s Libertarian political party. Recently the county board of elections emailed me asking for some documentation about a few old expenses.

I don’t have any problem with providing the documentation. I’m not the kind of libertarian that is more contrarian than anything else. Heck, I value transparency. (Although what extra transparency is provided by providing proof that we spent money versus us just reporting that we spent money?)

But I wondered - did I have to provide the documentation? Was it a legal requirement? Was it supposed to be originally provided?

So I asked ChatGPT. But not just “am I supposed to?” The thing is, I don’t trust any LLM response, especially to such a legal question. So I not only asked it am I legally required but also asked it to provide sources.

And then I checked those sources. I don’t want it hallucinating sources.

In the end, yes, I am supposed to provide documentation. “Receipts.” Which can be anything from a cancelled check, a bank statement with the necessary info, or a receipted bill (whatever than means).

In case you’re curious, here’s my prompt:

I’m in Ohio filing finance reports for my local political party as the treasurer. The county election commission is asking for receipts for various expenses. Is providing these receipts a legal requirement, and if so, where is that specified?

And here’s ChatGPT’s response:

Yes. For an Ohio political party, there is a statutory requirement to provide supporting documentation for expenditures over $25. The relevant provisions are in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3517 and the Ohio Administrative Code.

The key statute: R.C. 3517.10

Ohio Revised Code § 3517.10 applies specifically to political parties, among other political entities. It says:

“Every expenditure in excess of twenty-five dollars shall be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the purpose of the expenditure, that shall be filed with the statement of expenditures.”

It also says that a canceled check with a notation of the purpose of the expenditure qualifies as a receipted bill. ([Ohio Laws][1])

So, if your county political party reports, for example:

• $50 printing expense
• $125 catering expense
• $300 advertising expense

those expenditures need supporting documentation.

Ohio Revised Code § 3517.10

There’s an important distinction about what counts as a “receipt”

The Ohio Administrative Code provides more detail in OAC 111:2-4-13.

It says that expenditures must be recorded with the:

• name and address of the payee
• date
• amount
• purpose of the expenditure

And it specifically says that records related to expenditure activity must be retained.

For an expenditure over $25, the rule says the requirement can be satisfied with any one of:

1. A receipted bill
2. A canceled check
3. A bank account statement containing the payee, amount, date, and check number

That’s potentially significant in your situation. The law doesn’t necessarily require an itemized store receipt for every expenditure. A canceled check or qualifying bank statement can satisfy the statutory “vouching” requirement.

OAC 111:2-4-13 — Accounting for contributions and expenditures

From what I understand, ChatGPT was tweaked a little while back to provide sources, so it may have done so even had I not asked. Regardless, I still found it important to actually check the sources.

I’ve deep-linked the following two links to the Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code, but in case that deep-link doesn’t work, the link text is also what is deep linked:

• Section 3517.10 (D) (4) Every expenditure in excess of twenty-five dollars shall be vouched for by a receipted bill
• Rule 111:2-4-13 (D) The requirement of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code that every expenditure in excess of twenty-five dollars shall be vouched for, is satisfied by providing an original or photocopy of any of the following

And, in case you’re wondering, I did provide the documentation to the Board of Elections, and I will keep in mind that $25 requirement for the future.