For
the third year in a row, Washington state’s campaign disclosure program
tops the charts at number one in the country,
with particularly strong performances in
the areas of Electronic Filing and Disclosure
Content Accessibility, and a campaign disclosure
law that is second only to California’s.
Washington’s
disclosure law requires candidates to
report detailed information about contributors
giving over $25, including occupation
and employer for those donating over
$100. Last-minute contributions must
be reported prior to Election Day. Disclosure
of campaign expenditures is particularly
strong, with candidates providing detailed
information about vendors, subvendors and
accrued expenses. Independent expenditures
are disclosed, and those made in the three
weeks leading up to the election must be
disclosed within 24 hours. The Public
Disclosure Commission makes electronic
filing software available free of charge,
and electronic filing is required of candidates
spending over $10,000.
Washington
received 100 percent of the possible
points for Disclosure Content Accessibility
and once again ranked first in this category.
The Public Disclosure Commission continues
to offer exceptional access to campaign
disclosure records, giving visitors to
the agency’s web
site the ability to either browse disclosure
filings or search a comprehensive database
of itemized contributions and expenditures
on a number of fields. Access to
paper copies of disclosure records is excellent,
and the agency also offers data on CD.
After
receiving a C- in 2003 and an A- in 2004,
Washington landed in the middle with
a B- for Online Contextual and Technical
Usability this year. The drop was
due to a lower usability test score in
2005, with testers reporting some confusion
over site terminology and expressing less
confidence in their ability to accurately
answer questions about the governor’s
fundraising activity using information
on the site. Still, the Public Disclosure Commission’s
web site includes a number of great resources
to help site users put campaign data into
a larger context, including a series of “Election
Financing Fact Books” going back
to 1976, and detailed information about
the state’s
disclosure laws and requirements.
→ Quick
Fix: Add the complete
reporting period to the index of candidates’ reports.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: The “Campaign
Reporting Pocket Guide,” which
is a condensed quick-reference guide
to Washington’s campaign finance
restrictions and disclosure rules. View image
