Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has announced tha Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh will partner with her to offer expanded electronic campaign-finance reporting for local candidates and ballot questions.
Johnson announced the pilot program, which also will involve Kalamazoo County Clerk Tim Snow, in observance of National Sunshine Week March 16-22,
The program, Johnson said, will give Michigan residents electronic access to campaign finance records as well as the ability to easily search through the reports of local candidates and committees supporting or opposing ballot questions just like they can for state-level candidates and committees.
“Government and campaigns work best in the full sunshine of transparency and accountability,” said Johnson, the former Oakland County clerk. “Expanding electronic campaign-finance reporting to local candidates lets the sun shine in on the campaigns for local offices, which often have the most direct and frequent contact with Michigan residents. And the best part is we’re doing this without forcing county clerks to buy costly new disclosure software.”
Johnson thanked Gov. Rick Snyder and Michigan lawmakers for approving legislation which Johnson proposed during last year’s Sunshine Week.
The new law allows county clerks to adopt electronic filing and disclosure systems, and require candidate and other committees to file their reports electronically if they raise or spend at or above either $1,500 or $5,000 threshold as set by the clerk.
County clerk offices and local committees will be provided the state’s Michigan Electronic Reporting and Tracking System software, also known as MERTS, at no cost.
“This is a great example of state and county government working together to share resources and better serve Michigan residents,” Sabaugh said. “Michigan voters will benefit from more easily knowing who is supporting their local candidates.”
Along with the Macomb County Clerk’s Office, the Kalamazoo County Clerk’s Office will join the pilot program to work out details of how the electronic reporting system will operate at the county level so it can then be easily rolled out to other clerks statewide.
Johnson and Sabaugh also collaborate on joint office hours to offer one-stop shopping for county clerk/register of deeds and Secretary of State services at all Macomb County Secretary of State offices.
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