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Several File Online in First Major Campaign Finance
Deadline Since Launch of New System
Jackson, Miss.—Twenty-five candidates, including two statewide elected officials, and committees met the January 31, 2017 Campaign Finance Annual Report deadline by filing on the Secretary of State’s new online system. More than seventy users are now registered in the new system, indicating more may be gearing up to use it in the future.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann launched the new system in September 2016 in an effort to provide a more efficient method of reporting required information and to ensure more transparency in the public’s ability to search through reported information.
Filing on the new system is voluntary. Secretary Hosemann is supportive of making online filing mandatory.
“The more filers we can move to the new system, the more useful the database will be in helping the public understand how candidates are receiving and spending funds,” Secretary Hosemann said. “I am optimistic that the number of users will continue to increase every deadline.”
The new system allows filers to download templates, input monetary information, and then upload all information required before deadline days, or manually enter expenditures and contributions online over time. The completed report can then be electronically filed. More importantly, however, the website allows reports to be searched by candidate, committee name, office, expenditure, and contribution.
Staff from the Secretary of State’s Elections Division offered training sessions to make it as easy as possible for candidates to file online. Information Technology staff continue to assess and tweak the system, with the goal of making it as intuitive as possible for new users.
To search online filings, visit http://cfportal.sos.ms.gov/online/portal/cf/page/cf-search/Portal.aspx#clear=1. Traditional paper reports filed with the Secretary of State’s Office remain available to the public in PDF format at the same web address.
