The State of Disclosure in Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s performance in the Disclosure Content Accessibility category, in which it ranks 2nd in the nation, helped the state maintain an overall B- in the study, though its overall rank slipped from seven to ten. The state’s biggest weakness is its disclosure law.

Rhode Island’s campaign disclosure law is average and requires that candidates disclose detailed information about contributors giving at least $100, including employer but not occupation or cumulative amount donated. Loan disclosure is weak, and most candidates do not have to report last-minute contributions until after Election Day. Expenditures over $100 must be disclosed, but reports do not include subvendor information.  All state-level candidates must file reports electronically. In spite of reporting inadequate funding for its electronic filing program, the Board of Elections manages to provide committees with a free, web-based filing system and personalized training on how to use it.

Rhode Island ranks higher than 46 other states in the Disclosure Content Accessibility category (it shares its number 2 rank with Michigan and Texas,) and is second only to Washington. The Board of Elections provides the public with excellent access to candidates’ campaign filings, and features comprehensive, searchable databases of contribution and expenditure data on its web site. The only thing missing from those databases is the ability to search expenditure records by purpose.  Disclosure reports are posted to the Internet quickly, and can also be browsed, sorted and downloaded.

The usability of the state’s disclosure web site improved in 2005, and its grade for Online Contextual and Technical Usability rose from a D+ to a C. The index of reports for each candidate now includes the full reporting period for each filing, which helps site visitors better grasp the filing schedule and exactly which time period is covered by each report. The state’s score in the usability test, which rose, also affected its grade in this category; testers generally felt terminology on the site was easy to understand, and most gave the site a good rating overall.

→ Quick Fix: Add a simple list of the total amounts raised and spent by all candidates (organized by office), either through the database or as a static document.

♦ Editor’s Pick:  High profile of the disclosure site on the State of Rhode’s Island web portal. The Board of Elections web site is easy to locate from the state’s homepage, both by browsing (view image) and by searching (view image).

Disclosure Agency: Board of Elections
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.elections.state.ri.us