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From THE NEWS JOURNAL

Online Election Filing is Good Improvement Toward Full Disclosure

1/11/2006

Thanks to Delaware Election Commissioner Frank Calio, campaign contribution reports should be easier to file. That, in turn, means voters will eventually have more information about candidates and political action committees.

An updated online filing system is scheduled to be available later this month. It is hoped that more candidates and political committees will use it. Fewer paper forms to fill out mean a less expensive system and a shorter turnaround for the information to be available to the public.

Mr. Calio pursued the update after Delaware's 2004 setup received a D minus rating from the national Campaign Disclosure Project. Delaware used federal grant money to install the new system.

We agree with national observers who said Delaware should go to the next step and establish searchable finance databases. But the improved online system is a good first step.