WEB-BASED CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING SYSTEM PROMISES EASE OF USE
By SONU MUNSHI
Cronkite News Service
PHOENIX (Tuesday, Dec. 4) _ The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office is rolling out a Web-based campaign finance reporting system designed to make it easier for campaigns to enter information.
Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Tyne said the simplified process will help get the information to the public sooner.
The current system runs on software that can be used only on one computer, something that Tyne said many candidates and political committees found cumbersome. The new online interface, accessed with a user name and password, works on any computer.
House Speaker Pro Tempore Bob Robson, R-Chandler, said he’s glad his campaign staff will have the option of filing reports remotely instead of having to stick to one computer.
“That was troublesome to a large degree,” Robson said. “It was difficult for people to file all that data because you had to be in one place for that.”
Robson said he thinks the change will be a step up for citizens.
“It’s an overall benefit; it’s a better system,” Robson said. “It helps politicians bring the financial process more to light and up to date for the public.”
Candidates and political committees are required to regularly report their contributions and expenditures.
The new system will remind political committees and candidates of approaching deadlines when users log in. It also will send e-mail alerts.
The Secretary of State’s Office is offering free workshops around the state to help candidates and political committees learn the system.
It also is changing the way members of the public can view campaign finance data on its Web site, starting with expanded search functions allowing different ways of checking each committee’s financial position.
Tyne said the system will add features early next year allowing anyone to compare a candidate or committee’s finances during different time periods and to see how many different candidates or committees a donor has given to.
“It will be more user-friendly to find information, whether someone’s interested in a candidate or a donor,” Tyne said.
Barbara Lubin, who heads Progressive Majority, a partisan group that helps recruit candidates for local and state office, said she hopes the new system will be easier to use. She found the old system a headache when she ran unsuccessfully for the Arizona Corporation Commission.
“I hope they do troubleshooting with it first, that the training programs are thorough and that they’ll have tech support for committees who do these filings mainly with the help of volunteers, not CPAs,” Lubin said.
Linda Brown, executive director of Arizona Advocacy Network, which promotes civic participation in politics, said the changes will help keep elections honest.
“It’s the perfect application for the Internet and its power to increase transparency in government elections,” Brown said.
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Web Link:
_ Secretary of State: www.azsos.gov