A new website where candidates must report the source and value of donations they receive will make campaign finance information even more accessible to the public, according to the Government Accountability Board.

The website created by the GAB allows candidates to directly enter their reports instead of having to send separate files in to the board.

“This means the information will be entered into the system as quickly as possible, and our auditors will be able to get through the system in a more timely manner,” said Tommy Winkler, ethics specialist for the GAB.

In the past, only people who received contributions totaling $2,500 or more had to file their information online, yet they could use any sort of format for the report, which caused some problems, according to Winkler.

With this new system, information on how much money a certain public candidate has received and the source of the donations is now publicly accessible. However, there currently is no way to look up specific donors or groups of donors to see their contributions.

According to Mike McCabe, director of the Democratic Wisconsin Campaign, the new system has the potential to be a good tool for the public, but some flaws still need to be worked out.

“I’ve heard a number of candidates complain about the new system, and it seems there is some uncertainty on how to use the new system,” McCabe said.

Until now, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign was the only group in Wisconsin to offer a searchable website database. Even with the GAB’s new site, this alternative site will still be useful because the user can search for specific groups of donors, such as the Wisconsin League of Taverns or Wisconsin Realtors, according to McCabe.

The GAB’s new system of data entry has affected the ability of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign to compile its data for public access. According to McCabe, it has been a challenge for the organization to retrieve the data because of certain technical aspects, costing time and money.

“So far we have found dealing with the new system unduly cumbersome,” McCabe said. “It slows down the work we do.”

Winkler admits that there have been some drawbacks to the system, such as difficulties entering old data.

“The data that was filed in the past we are trying to convert into this new system, and there are challenges with that just like you would have in any new computer software system,” Winkler said.

McCabe said it’s too early to pass a full judgment on the system, but he believes, along with Winkler, the website has a great potential to be a good tool for the public.

“It’s not going to work perfect right away, but as we transition people over to the new system it is going to be a great benefit to its users, the auditors, and especially the public,” Winkler said.