There
have been no measurable changes in Alaska’s
campaign disclosure program since 2004,
and its overall and category grades remain
the same, though its rank fell slightly
as other states improved.
Alaska
law requires candidates to disclose the
names and addresses of all contributors,
and to report occupation and employer for
those giving $100 or more. Candidates
must file detailed information about expenditures,
including accrued expenditures, but subvendor
data is not disclosed. Independent expenditure
reporting is a weak point in Alaska’s
disclosure law, and last-minute expenditures
are not reported until after the election.
The Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC)
is developing a new, web-based filing system
to provide committees with additional reporting
options and speed up the delivery of reports
to the public, but electronic filing is
still voluntary. In fact, the legislature
took a step away from mandatory e-filing
last fall when it passed SB 351, which
strips the Commission of the power to require
electronic filing and instead requires
the Commission to accept reports in non-electronic
formats.
After making significant improvements in
data accessibility last year, Alaska’s
disclosure web site changed little in 2005, and there is definitely room for
further improvement. The searchable contribution and expenditure databases
help the state maintain its B in Disclosure Content Accessibility, but the
system could be streamlined to enhance access and reduce confusion. For example,
there are four different interfaces that can be used to search for individual
contributors, each one offering a different combination of search fields, and
there are yet more interfaces for performing expenditure searches. Consolidating
these multiple screens would simplify the search process, reduce duplication
and improve site navigability.
For
the third year in a row, Alaska has received
a top score in the web site usability
testing, and its grade and rank in the
Online Contextual and Technical Usability
category reflect those test results, as
well as the wealth of contextual information
it gives site visitors. No other
state has consistently achieved a top rating
in the usability test, which measures both
the ability of site users to extract key
information from the site, as well as the
level of satisfaction with the site expressed
by testers. To further improve in this
area, the APOC could revisit some of the
terminology used throughout the site, particularly
the labeling of the various search interfaces.
→ Quick
Fix: Add comprehensive
instructions for the searchable databases. Given
the multiple search screens and wealth
of data available, the site needs
more complete instructions, and possibly
a user guide.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: Overviews
of campaign
finance disclosure data for all candidates.
View
image
Disclosure Agency: Alaska Public Offices Commission
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.state.ak.us/apoc/index.htm
