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Jackson, Miss.—Candidates and political committees can now save time and increase transparency to the public by filing their campaign finance reports online.
The Secretary of State’s Office unveiled a new campaign finance web site today. The site allows filers to download user-friendly Excel spreadsheets, input contributions and disbursements over time, and then upload the information into their required online report before deadline days. Contributions and disbursements can also be manually typed in the report online.
The web site has a second residual impact on the wider public: all reports filed online through the new system are searchable by candidate or political committee name, office, expenditure, or contribution. Late-filer reports will also be available on the web site.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann will advocate during the 2017 Legislative Session for mandatory online filing beginning in January 2020.
“The goal is to make it as easy as possible to disclose and access information so the public can make educated decisions about their elected officials,” Secretary Hosemann said. “Mandatory online filing will take an act of the Mississippi Legislature. In the interim, my hope is candidates and political committees will choose to use our web site voluntarily for the sake of efficiency and good government.”
The Secretary of State’s Office reviewed several other states’ web sites—including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee—in developing Mississippi’s new system.
Traditional paper reports filed in the future with the Secretary of State’s Office will remain available in PDF format on the Agency web site. Reports in PDF format filed prior to the launch of the new online system will also remain accessible on the Agency web site.
A full list of 2016 campaign finance deadlines is accessible here. To file an online report or search online filings, visit the Secretary of State’s web site.
