Changes
in the area of web site usability contributed
to a slight drop in Wisconsin’s
overall grade, and the state’s overall
rank fell from 15 to 25 as other states
made significant advancements in campaign
finance disclosure.
Under
Wisconsin law, candidates file two reports
in non-election years and one report
prior to each election. Candidates
must disclose detailed information about
contributors who give more than $20, but
only report occupation and employer for
those giving more than $100. Expenditures
in excess of $20 must be reported, but
subvendor information is not required. Wisconsin
requires the disclosure of independent
expenditures, and both last-minute independent
expenditures and last-minute contributions
must be disclosed before the election. Electronic
filing is mandatory for statewide and legislative
candidates who reach a threshold of $20,000.
Access
to campaign finance data in Wisconsin
is poor, mainly because the state is still
one of only four in the country with mandatory
electronic filing that does not provide
the public with an online, searchable database
of campaign finance records. Although
the State Elections Board web site does
allow site visitors to browse electronically
filed reports, the site is not comprehensive
because it includes only summary information
for paper filers. In order to view
complete paper filings one has to either
visit the Elections Board or request copies
from that office, a process which is fairly
easy but could get expensive if numerous
reports were needed.
Wisconsin’s Online Contextual and
Technical Usability grade fell from a C-
to an F in 2004, because of negative changes
in the area of technical usability. The
state’s usability testing score dropped
substantially, which was likely due to
the fact that it became more difficult
to locate the disclosure web site from
the State of Wisconsin homepage. The
best contextual resource on the Board of
Elections web site is a series of “Summary
Data View” files that provide both
historical and current overview information
comparing state candidates’ campaign
finance activity. The disclosure
agency also does a good job helping site
visitors understand the universe of reports
available online. If Wisconsin desired
to improve in this category, it could add
reporting period dates to the browsable
campaign reports, and retain original filings
online even after amendments have been
posted.
