Nevada News Bureau Staff: As he said he would, Secretary of State Ross Miller has filed his campaign contribution and expense report two weeks ahead of the deadline and several days before early voting begins for the Nov. 2 general election.
Miller has proposed legislation for the next session to improve the campaign reporting process, and voluntarily chose to post his report early as a way of showing his willingness to comply with revised rules that would make the information more useful to the public.
Current law requires the reports to be filed by candidates on Oct. 26, well after early voting has already begun. Early voting starts Oct. 16. More than half of all Nevadans voted early in the 2008 election.
Miller has requested legislation to move up the filing dates for the contribution and expense reports and then require updates. He also wants reports filed electronically so they can be easily searched by the public.
Miller will also file an updated report by the Oct. 26 deadline as required in state law.
Miller’s report, filed Tuesday, shows he collected nearly $85,000 in monetary contributions in excess of $100 in this second reporting period, with a total so far for the election season of just under $277,000. He also reports spending nearly $70,000 in the current reporting period and nearly $179,000 for the election season to date.
The second required report covers the period from May 28 to Oct. 21, although Miller’s initial filing does not extend to the full reporting period.
Miller received about 80 contributions, including $4,500 from NV Energy, $5,000 from the Searchlight Leadership Fund operated by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., $5,000 from the gaming manufacturer IGT, and $5,000 from the Nevada Realtors Political Action Committee, among others.
On the expenditure side, Miller reported a contribution of $10,000 to his own legal defense fund, formed after an ethics complaint was filed against him earlier this year by the state Republican Party alleging he used his official office for campaign purposes and used a public service announcement about the census to promote his re-election campaign. The complaint was rejected by a panel of the commission.
