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- Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson is proposing a new searchable campaign finance database.
- The proposed system would require all candidates to digitally file their campaign finance information.
- The goal is to increase transparency and hold elected officials accountable amid recent corruption scandals.
- The bill, developed with Sen. Jeremy England, would also close loopholes and restrict cash donation amounts.
Secretary of State Michael Watson has been proposing a campaign finance database for years. Now, as corruption scandals unfurl into investigations and trials throughout Mississippi, he thinks he has the support to enact his vision into law.
Watson told reporters Wednesday that he was working alongside Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, to develop a database that would streamline campaign finance reporting and searching.
“We want to make sure that we hold our elected officials accountable,” he said. “Who’s getting a $100,000 check here and changing their vote the next month or next week?”
Candidates for office at all levels would have to submit their campaign finance information digitally to a website run by the Secretary of State’s office, which would be searchable. The idea, Watson said, is to provide a candidate’s campaign finance information for every available election cycle with a single search.
“I think we can tell Mississippians, ‘We want you to hold us accountable, because when you hold us accountable, you get better government,'” he said. “If you want to take a trip or have a steak, that’s fine. Mississippians should know about it.”
The bill would close some loopholes in the campaign finance system, Sen. England said, and restrict cash donation amounts to avoid corruption scandals such as the looming case facing former Jackson city leaders Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Jody Owens and Aaron Banks.
“Every elected official, as we say, from dogcatcher on up to governor, is very important,” he said. “We handle important ideas and we make policy that affects everyone’s lives, so it’s important to be as transparent as possible.”
Officials would have to register a bank account and file campaign finance documents before they could take any contributions or spend any money, England said. He said there is consensus on the bill and he feels “very confident” that it will pass the Senate and House.
Watson estimated that the new rules and system could be in place as early as May, if England’s bill becomes law.
“The feds have been doing this for over 20 years,” he said. “It makes zero sense for Mississippi not to have this.”