New York was among the five most
improved states since the 2005
assessment, moving from 29th overall
up to 16th while jumping from a
D+ to a B- in 2007.
A
closer examination of New York’s
disclosure law in 2007 resulted
in scoring revisions, causing the
state’s grade to increase
to a C from a D in 2005. Candidates
must report the name and address
of contributors who give $100 or
more, but not occupation and employer
data. Large, last-minute contributions
are disclosed before Election Day.
Details of expenditures over $49
must be disclosed, including subvendor
information. Independent expenditures
are reported, and the name of the
candidate on whose behalf the expenditure
is made must be disclosed. Candidates
for both state and legislative
offices who raise more than $1,000
must file their disclosure reports
electronically. In addition to
providing free filing software,
the State Board of Elections has
created a new, well-staffed electronic
filing help desk to assist candidates.
Enhancements
to the State Board of Elections’ web
site in late 2005 accounted for
the jump in New York’s data
accessibility score to an A- from
a C- since the last study. The
addition of a searchable database
of expenditures has greatly improved
access to campaign data, allowing
the public to search by specific
payees, transaction dates and amounts.
The state also enhanced the public’s
ability to search itemized contribution
data by adding more search fields,
including donor zip code. Currently,
the public can download large files
of data containing records for
entire filing periods; adding the
ability to download smaller sets
of data would be useful.
New
York earned a C+ and top ten
ranking in the Online Contextual
and Technical Usability category
in 2007, up from an F and a bottom
ten ranking in 2005. The enhanced
disclosure web site was well-received
by usability testers in 2007,
who were able to find information
more quickly and reported higher
levels of confidence than testers
did in 2005. Lists of the aggregate
amounts raised and spent by statewide
and legislative candidates have
been added to the site, complementing
the wealth of contextual information
that was already available, including
candidate lists and a description
of which reports and candidate
filings are available online. Currently,
reports are labeled in reference
to a specific election (for example, “32
Day Pre-Primary Report”);
adding the starting and ending
dates of the reporting periods
would provide the public with a
clearer view of the time period
covered by each report.
→ Quick
Fix: Add the ability
to search the expenditures
database by expense code.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: Each candidate’s
report index page provides
users with the ability to
search that candidate’s
specific contributors, or
for all contributions above
a certain amount. View
image
