THE FOLLOW UP Final fundraising reports will be hard to find before election

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When voters head to the polls, some of them like to know who’s been bankrolling whom on the campaign trail.

This year, that type of information will be hard to get before Election Day.

Citing an obscure section of Georgia’s campaign finance law, the state ethics commission has moved the deadline to file the final pre-election fundraising reports to the eve of the election.

Since some campaigns and political action committees and other groups wait until the last minute, they could be filing at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 2.

It’s a big blow for transparency because this year millions of dollars could pour into Georgia in the final days of the election cycle because the state not only faces a highly competitive presidential race but also tight contests for two U.S. Senate seats and critical showdowns for seats in Congress and the General Assembly.

The reports are technically due Sunday, but there’s a grace period of five working days, meaning they really don’t have to be filed until Oct. 30.

But David Emadi, the executive director of the ethics commission, noted that state law extends that grace period when the official deadline falls on a weekend. That pushed the deadline to the day before the election.

“It may not be ideal, but it’s my duty to follow the law,” Emadi said.

Rick Thompson, a member of the commission’s board, called the shift in deadlines “unfortunate.”

“The situation does not contribute to the mission of the agency and the public’s trust,” Thompson said.

Emadi said he may address the change in deadlines in the ethics package his agency is expected to propose to the 2021 General Assembly.

BEN GRAY/FOR THE AJC Appointed Senator Kelly Loeffler has swung to the right while she battles Doug Collins, Democrat RaphaelWarnock and 17 other candidates in a special election to fill the final two years of retiredU.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term.