State upgrades campaign finance reporting system

CHARLESTON -- The West Virginia Secretary of State's Office has upgraded the state's campaign finance reporting system, according to a recent press release issued by the agency.

The upgraded system allows people to conduct different searches, including one method that electronically searches for contributors by name or employer. The office believes this will help voters easily determine who is funding campaigns for any statewide office.

Before the upgrade, an individual had to manually scan every report to find relevant information. The upgrade finds the data plugging in the name of the contributor or any other desired search criteria, including contributor's occupation, employer, city, state or ZIP code. People also can search for campaign expenditures, such as television stations or campaign consultants in the same manner.

The reporting system can be accessed at www.wvsos.com and www.WVvotes.com. For more information, contact the Secretary's office at 866- SOS-VOTE.