WILKES-BARRE — The Luzerne County Bureau of Elections is looking at options to put campaign finance reports back online while protecting the release of candidates’ personal identifying information on the documents.
The bureau in June removed copies of campaign finance reports from its website in response to privacy and security concerns raised. The reports are still available for public inspection at the election office in the county Penn Place building in Wilkes-Barre, and the bureau can provide campaign finance reports with an email after receiving a request using a form posted on the bureau website.
During last Wednesday’s election board meeting, Election Director Emily Cook said the bureau has had discussions with two potential vendors and “is in the process of determining which of those two would be the best option to reinstate those reports being publicly available while still providing the protection to the candidates and committees.”
The bureau removed the campaign finance reports from its website “pending us being able to research a cost effective option for the county to provide that transparency as well as that safety for the candidates and those individuals that have their information out there for everyone to see,” Cook explained.
Cook added she will “have more conclusive results for the” next board meeting on Sept. 17.
“But we are actively involved process of finding a way to compromise on getting the transparency that is required with the campaign finance reports and still being able to protect the candidates, who are very grateful that we did take them off the website,” Cook said.
Board Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro said she could help get the reports back online at no charge, noting board members are volunteers.
“Put me in a room with a Sharpie. I’ll spend all day. We’ll have it done. Then we can upload it and make them public,” Fusaro said. “We have to work at making this more public and without costing the taxpayers money.”
Fusaro stressed the importance of voters being able to “follow the money.”
During a public comment session at last week’s meeting, Controller Walter Griffith objected to the current process to access campaign finance reports.
“Candidates need that information,” Griffiths said. “We need to know who’s supporting whom, and the public needs to know that information as well. So when we had it up online, it was very convenient.”
Griffith specifically objected to an affirmation on the request form that says requestors can’t publish or post information from campaign finance reports.
“That is totally illegal,” Griffith said. “That is a public document. I can do with that document what I wish, and for me to affirm that I will not do that under penalty of law, I don’t think is appropriate for anybody, not just me.”
Gene Molino, solicitor for the election board, agreed that campaign finance reports are public records and can be shared and posted on social media or anywhere. Molino said the language on the form “has to be cleaned up because it doesn’t apply to everything.”
Two months ago, Molino said the concern about safety and personal identifying information of candidates stemmed from the June 14 shootings at the homes of Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman. Hortman and her husband were killed. Hoffman and his wife were wounded.
