Ryan Walters ordered to pay Oklahoma Ethics Commission over campaign report violations

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has been ordered to pay $7,800 to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for filing campaign reports late 14 times during his run for public office last year.

"The failure to file a required report is a violation of the Ethics Rules," the commission told him in notices.

Only one of the 14 orders has become final, though it has not been paid. Walters is contesting the others. A hearing is expected sometime next year.

Dozens of other candidates have had trouble meeting filing deadlines but few to the same extent, records show. Most are assessed under $1,000.

Most candidates also simply pay the late fees rather than contest the violations. They are allowed to use surplus campaign funds to make the payments. The late fees are not considered fines.

Compliance discovery comes amid intense scrutiny

The Oklahoman discovered Walters' compliance problems during a review of his campaign filings. He is listed as the treasurer and chairperson of his campaign.

The discovery comes at a time of intense scrutiny of the superintendent. The Republican has become one of the most polarizing politicians in Oklahoma in a long time because of his focus on culture war issues rather than traditional topics.

He caused more controversy last week after an elementary school librarian posted a TikTok video as a joke about her "woke agenda." He retweeted an altered version of the video and wrote "woke ideology is real and I am here to stop it."

More: Criticism for Ryan Walters intensifies after 3 days of bomb threats at school in retweeted video

'Last-minute' contribution reports filed late

Walters was on the primary, runoff and general election ballots last year. The Ethics Commission determined he filed some so-called "last-minute" contribution reports late before each election.

Under ethics rules, a candidate must report within 24 hours most donations over $1,000 accepted in the last two weeks before an election. The exception is donations deposited on Election Day or the day before.

The late fee for failing to file a continuing report of contributions is $200 a day, up to $1,000.

More: Ousted Oklahoma County District Judge Kendra Coleman accused of campaign violations

The Ethics Commission's executive director, Ashley Kemp, began assessing Walters' campaign late fees after the general election. Most of the assessments were for reports filed one to five days late.

One $1,000 assessment was over a report filed 73 days late. The Ethics Commission was told by Walters' campaign that the report involved fixing a donor's name "to make sure we weren't misleading anybody."

The most recent assessment − for $200 over a report filed a day late in November − became final after Walters didn't contest it. He was told to pay by March 23, but he has not, the Ethics Commission said.

Walters' contests will be heard by an administrative law judge who can affirm, set aside or modify the assessments. Walters can go to Oklahoma County District Court if the administrative law judge rules against him.

Walters' chief adviser, Matt Langston, did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

A Walters campaign consultant provided internal documentation in April to the Ethics Commission about the late reports. "We hope this helps provide clarity and show a good faith effort from our team to be as transparent as possible on our filings," the consultant wrote.

Walters faced criticism early in his run for state office for not reporting all of his campaign expenses to the Ethics Commission.

In his first report, he initially reported spending only $1,181 to start his campaign. He disclosed in an amended report more than five months later that he actually spent $4,621.

Walters reported spending almost $700,000 on his election effort. He had almost $40,000 left over as of June 30.

More: Two Oklahoma members of Congress report assets worth as much as $100 million each

Other elected officials hit with late fees

Others hit with late fees over the 2022 election include Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.

Drummond paid $1,000 in November for not disclosing a $75,000 loan before the primary election. He did disclose it on a late continuing report and on his pre-runoff report. His campaign blamed a bookkeeping error.

Pinnell paid $1,800 in December, records show.

Last month, Kyle Meraz, a state House candidate who lost in 2020 and 2022, paid $6,100 in late fees, records show.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters filed campaign reports late 14 times, Ethics Commission says