Oktibbeha County Chancery Clerk candidate Sharon Livingston filed her pre-election campaign finance report by the deadline Tuesday, but the copy of her report was not stamped by the circuit clerk or provided to the Starkville Daily News by the close of the business day.
The Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk’s office said Livingston initially filed her report in the morning, but was missing a cover sheet for the filing. Livingston completed the cover sheet and sent a mail runner to the circuit clerk's office before the 5 p.m. deadline.
The report was mistakenly left on the wrong desk, therefore not reaching the circuit clerk’s desk on Tuesday. The report was not discovered until Wednesday morning.
Livingston's report was officially stamped by interim Circuit Clerk Angie McGinnis on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
The next deadline for pre-runoff reports is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 21. The filing deadline for annual reports will be Jan. 31, 2018.
A candidate or political committee, which fails to timely file a campaign finance disclosure report will be assessed a civil penalty beginning with the 10th calendar day after the report is due, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's office.
Beginning with the 10th calendar day, the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office will assess the delinquent candidate or political committee a civil penalty of $50.00 for each day or part of any day until a complete and substantially compliant report is filed with the Secretary of State, up to a maximum of 10 days.
An intentional violation of the campaign finance disclosure law is a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of $3,000, six months imprisonment, or both, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office.
The reporting period covers the time from Jan. 1 to Oct. 28, 2017.
LIVINGSTON’S REPORT
Livingston reported $2,850 in total contributions for the calendar year-to-date, all of which was itemized.
In term of payouts, Livingston reported $11,857.71 in disbursements for the calendar year-to-date, with $16,857.71 in disbursements listed as itemized.
On the list of itemized disbursements, Livingston reported a total of $2,850 from five donors, with the difference coming out of the candidate's pocket.
Livingston’s largest single contribution came in the amount of $1,500 from Cory Anthony of Starkville. Anthony’s occupation and name of employer - both of which are required fields on the form - were not specified.
The largest payouts for Livingston came in the amounts of $7,001.97 to Pollan & Associates and $4,501.75 to Campus & City Mail. The optional “purpose of disbursement” field on the form was not filled out for either payout.