We are the only municipality in Colorado with campaign finance regulations that require extensive reporting and review and are one of the first to provide online filing.  The intent of this project is to not only support an efficient and effective reporting system but enhance transparency and accessibility for the public.  Historically, election financial reports have been completed and filed on paper, and more recently, on imported Excel spreadsheets.  Upgrading to e-filing allows documents to auto-posts to the web, presents information to the public that is uniform and accurate, allows for ease of exporting and sorting information and eliminates the need for entering manual reports into the election database.  The automated functions of this application significantly reduce staff time and allow the Campaign Finance Administrator to focus on reviewing reports and working with committees.  Beyond providing efficiency in election processes, an additional driving force of the new election reporting system is to free candidates to focus on campaigning instead of dealing with the complexities of Campaign Finance regulations. 

This case study was submitted to the Alliance for Innovation for consideration at the 2010 Transforming Local Government conference.