Grading State Disclosure

Maine’s grade improved again in 2007, moving from a C to a B and rising four places in the rankings to 13th overall. The state made gains in the areas of electronic filing and web site usability.

A closer examination of Maine’s disclosure law in 2007 resulted in scoring revisions, causing the state’s grade to increase to a B- from a C in 2005. Candidates must report information on contributions of $50 or more, including donor name, address, occupation and employer. Expenditure disclosure is thorough and includes subvendor disclosure. Maine law is also particularly strong in the area of independent expenditure reporting. With both funding and a mandate for electronic filing in place, Maine earned an A in the Electronic Filing category in 2007. The state’s electronic filing program was strengthened in 2006, when the previously voluntary system became mandatory for all statewide and legislative campaigns raising $1,500.

Maine continues to provide excellent access to campaign finance data and earned an A- again in 2007 for Disclosure Content Accessibility. The state’s disclosure web site features browsable candidate filings as well as comprehensive, searchable databases of contributions and expenditures comprised of both electronic and data-entered paper filings. The only search option missing is a field for searching by a donor’s employer. Site visitors can download data from the site, but are not able to sort data online. The Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices provides immediate access to reports filed electronically and posts paper filings online within 48 hours of receipt.

Maine’s improved usability test performance propelled the state 17 places higher in the rankings in this area in 2007. Maine was one of four states to earn the highest usability test rating in 2007 as all testers reported confidence in their ability to locate specific, accurate data on the site and most testers found the site easy to understand. While the site is simple to use, there are still some key pieces of contextual information missing, such as overviews of the total amounts raised and spent by candidates. The site could also be improved by providing an explanation of the data contained in the searchable databases (which candidates, which reports, and the time period covered) and instructions for accessing the data. Finally, as campaign data is located on a separate site from the Commission’s site, a prominent link from the campaign data site back to the Commission’s site would allow users to more easily refer to campaign disclosure requirements and restrictions while reviewing reports.

Disclosure Agency: Commission on Governmental Ethics
and Election Practices
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.state.me.us/ethics