(The Center Square) – Modernization reforming campaign finance reporting in North Carolina is to be guided by 10 principles, a panel of veteran politicos says.
First-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek, creator of the Modernization of Election Data System Commission, said faster, easier and a more secure election system is sought. He said the initial phase heads in the right direction.
Elimination or minimization of paper filings tops the list in a move to a cloud-based and portable system. Guided filing; automated compliance and corrections; electronic signatures; and integration and data import round out the first five.
The 21-member commission is also pushing timely transparency; powerful public search and analytics; automated and simplified communications; secure data management and integrated training; and modernization in the form of allowance for regular updates and evolving technology, law and election administration.
The commission is chaired by Brooks Fuller and Andy Jackson. Fuller is policy director of Common Cause North Carolina; Jackson is director of the Civitas Center of Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation.
Common Cause bills itself nonpartisan though is generally considered an advocate of liberal voting-rights positions. It has sued Republican leaders of the General Assembly. The John Locke Foundation is a conservative free-market think tank promoting constitutional government.
“One of our goals is to have a system that minimizes noncompliance,” Jackson said. “It should be intuitive and provide prompts to help treasurers file reports correctly. It should also notify them when their reports have been received and accepted by the board of elections. Most noncompliance stems from mistakes rather than malfeasance, and the new system should help treasurers avoid those mistakes.”
Fuller said the 35-year-old paper-dependent campaign needs replacing.
“When we’re done, we plan to have a platform that minimizes administrative burden on staff and maximizes transparency for the people of North Carolina,” he said.
