Campaign finance data slow to come online

Kate Nash | The New Mexican

5/12/2008 - 5/13/08

Even though most candidates for office on Monday filed campaign finance information online, the Secretary of State's Office says data won't be available on the Internet until May 26.

A spokesman blamed a sluggish computer system and said because about 30 candidates filed on paper instead of online, the process is slower than usual.

"There's a lot of reports that have to be scanned in and you just can't do it all at one time. We're getting a lot of information at the same time," said office spokesman James Flores. "We can only scan it in so fast."

The state Board of Elections came up with the May 26 date so all candidate information would be made available at the same time, he said.

Candidates, including those for all the state Legislature seats and the Public Regulation Commission, had a Monday filing deadline. The next deadline is May 29 — just three days after the current finance reports are slated to become available. The May 29 filing is just five days before the June 3 primary.

Lack of timely online campaign-finance information available to the public has long been a sore spot with the office.

Flores said he hopes the state will invest in a better system. Although the office has redesigned its Web site, he said the campaign-finance filing system dates back to the 1990s.

Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, a longtime campaign-finance reform advocate, said she has sponsored bills to help the office with the filing system in particular. Last year, she reauthorized $70,000 for the filing system, after the office went for several years without using it.

"That's a real disappointment," she said.

"They assured me the system would be up to par," Feldman said, adding that she'd like to know what that money was used for, if not on improving the system.

Flores acknowledged the office received the money for improvements, but said the system needs to be replaced.

New Mexico law requires candidates to file reports electronically, or get a hardship waiver explaining why they can't.

As for the number of candidates asking for waivers allowing them to file on paper, Feldman suggested the number could be on the rise because the system is not easy to use, something she's found out through her own campaigns.

"It could be because the system is hard to deal with and unwieldy that so many people are filing for hardships," she said.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog, Green Chile Chatter, at www.sfnewmexican.com.