Arkansas Secretary of State ready to launch new online campaign finance system

A more transparent system will allow state residents a better understanding of who is funding candidates for office.

The Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office is set to launch a new online campaign finance system on Friday (Sept. 1) that should make it easier for candidates and others to file their campaign finance reports online. The new system will give users a more detailed look at donors and donations to candidates, Secretary of State spokesman Chris Powell told Talk Business & Politics.

“This one will be a lot more functional and user friendly,” Powell said. “This is a much needed update.”

The legislature authorized the update in 2016, and allocated $750,000 toward the project. Another $11,575 was taken from the elections budget to pay for the project. PCC Technology, a Connecticut-based company that specializes in software for secretaries of state across the country, developed the system. It took several months to develop, Powell said.

Act 318, passed in March, requires nearly all candidates to use the system starting Oct. 1. Candidates can request a waiver if they do not posses the technology to upload the reports, or it would be a hardship, according to the act. An affidavit has to be filed. Those who opt out will still have to file hard-copy finance reports with the state, and those reports will be scanned and placed online. The Secretary of State’s Office will not accept any hard-copy reports until the affidavit has been approved.

The old system required filers to to type in individual contributions, and mistakes were common. It was difficult to search for the amounts given by individual donors across multiple races. The new system will allow users to search by donor name, meaning the total donation amounts and who they went to will be easier to ascertain, Powell said. Lobbyists, Political Action Committees (PACS), expenditure committees, and others are required to file with the new system.

Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers, attempted to have this new requirement for candidates in 2015, but it failed because many candidates wouldn’t file online because of the unreliability of the old system. After the new system was funded, Rosa re-submitted her bill earlier this year, and it passed.

Candidates have been notified the old system will shut down by Friday. A video tutorial explains how the new system works and how to setup an account. Tutorial videos about financial disclosure training, and the affidavit for paper filings are also available.

“This new system is completely independent of the old one,” Powell said. “We’re really excited about this new system.”

Link here to view the new system.