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The State of Disclosure in Michigan
Michigan
placed 6th in the overall rankings in 2007,
and placed within the top ten in three of
the four categories. Michigan’s grade
improved to a B in 2007 as the Secretary of
State’s office added useful contextual
information to the disclosure site.
A
closer examination of Michigan’s disclosure
law in 2007 resulted in scoring revisions,
causing Michigan’s grade to increase
to a B- from a C in 2005. Occupation and employer
information is required of donors giving $100
or more, while expenses must be itemized if
over $50, including those made by subvendors.
In 2006, the Secretary of State issued a “10
Point Plan to Improve Campaign Finance in Michigan” which
recommends enacting campaign auditing powers
and giving the public better tools for tracking
contributions. Michigan’s electronic
filing program ranks among the best in the
nation, requiring both statewide and legislative
candidates reaching a threshold of $20,000
to file electronically. Michigan’s program
was recently enhanced to facilitate electronic
filing of last-minute contributions as well.
Michigan
continues to provide excellent access to
campaign finance records through the Secretary
of State’s web site and again earned
an A in the Disclosure Content Accessibility
category. Michigan’s contribution and
expenditure databases can serve as a model
for other states, displaying great functionality,
comprehensive search options, and data going
back to 1997. Access to reports filed on paper
could be improved by entering those records
into the searchable database. In 2006, Michigan
integrated campaign finance data with election
information through the Secretary of State’s
online “Michigan Voter Information Center”.
Despite
a slight drop in the state’s usability
test performance, contextual information that
debuted on Michigan’s disclosure site in
2007 boosted Michigan back into the top ten in
the Online Contextual and Technical Usability
category. The addition of a new “Candidate
Summary Page” in 2007 provides users with
the ability to view and compare the totals raised
and spent by all candidates. This downloadable
data is updated daily and offers summaries going
back to 1998. While the site is rated average
in terms of usability tests, the contextual information
available is strong, and includes complete candidate
lists, resources to help the public determine
what data is available online, and in-depth information
about campaign finance restrictions and disclosure
requirements.
→ Quick
Fix: Publish candidate reporting
periods. The index of candidate
reports provides the date a report was
filed, but not the time period covered
by the report.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: The Secretary
of State’s 2006 “10 Point
Plan to Improve Campaign Finance in
Michigan” informs the public
of key changes that can be made to
improve campaign disclosure in Michigan. View
image
 Disclosure Agency: Department of State
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.michigan.gov/sos
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