Washington
again ranked number one in the country
for disclosure of candidate campaign
finance information. The
state received high marks in every Grading
State Disclosure category, and a substantial
increase in Washington’s usability
testing score bumped its overall grade
from an A- to an A in 2004.
Washington’s disclosure law, ranked
second in the nation, requires candidates
to file monthly reports year-round, and
two additional reports prior to an election. Candidates
disclose detailed information about contributors
who give more than $25, including occupation
and employer for those giving more than
$100. Last-minute contributions must
be reported before the election. Detailed
information, including subvendor, must
be reported for expenditures of $50 or
more. Independent expenditures of
$1,000 or more occurring within 21 days
of an election have to be reported within
24 hours; otherwise independent expenditures
must be disclosed within five days of being
made. Electronic filing is mandatory
for candidates reaching a $10,000 threshold,
which is down from $25,000 last year.
Contribution
and expenditure databases that include “smart search” options
and can be searched on a variety of fields,
are the highlight of Washington’s
disclosure web site and earn the state
its number one rank in Disclosure Content
Accessibility. The databases are
comprehensive (the agency manually enters
itemized data from paper filers), and results
can be sorted and downloaded. There is
also an interface for browsing complete
reports, for those who would like to get
an overview of a particular candidate’s
activity. Washington is one of only
five states in the country that received
full credit for ease of access to paper
copies of disclosure reports.
The
usability of the Public Disclosure Commission’s web site, particularly
as measured by the project’s usability
testing, improved greatly in 2004. Washington’s
grade in this category jumped from a C-
to an A-, and helped ensure another top
ranking for the state overall. Strengths
in Online Contextual and Technical Usability
include summary information comparing the
total amounts raised and spent by state
candidates, in-depth information about
Washington’s disclosure requirements
and contribution limits, and the availability
of both original and amended campaign filings. Washington
could improve its grade further with a
better description of whose records are
available online, and by adding reporting
period dates to the display of complete
filings.
