Virginia
is ranked in the top 25 states, but its grade of D+ shows
that its campaign finance disclosure program needs work. Virginia's
strength lies in its Campaign Disclosure Law and its most
significant weakness is in Disclosure Content Accessibility.
Virginia
law requires candidates to file two statements in non-election
years, two statements before primary elections and four
statements before general elections. Information about contributors
who give more than $100 must be reported, including information
about a donor's occupation and employer. Last-minute contributions
of $1,000 or more for statewide candidates ($500 for other candidates)
must be reported by the next business day. All expenditures
must be disclosed, including credit card details, but no other
subvendor information is required. Independent expenditures
must be reported, but last-minute independent expenditures do
not have to be disclosed prior to an election. Virginia
has mandatory electronic filing for statewide candidates
and voluntary electronic filing legislative candidates.
Virginia
has considerable room to improve its efforts to make
campaign finance information accessible to the public. Disclosure
reports are posted to the web site in a timely manner, but the
site does not feature searchable databases of contributions or
expenditures. Although it is buried in the web site, some
site visitors might stumble across a non-functioning interface
for searching reports, which is confusing because there
is no explanation for why the site would continue to include
a feature that is no longer operating.
The
usability of the site is below average. However, the
contextual information on the site is good, with an explanation
of the law, information about what reports are online, clear labeling
of reporting periods on the candidate filings, and the use of clear
terminology throughout the site. There is a comprehensive
list of candidates for current elections; however, it could be
easier to view. The site could be improved with the addition
of lists of the total amounts raised and spent by state candidates
and the posting of both of original campaign finance reports and
amendments. It could also be easier for the public to locate
the Board of Elections site from the state homepage.
