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The State of Disclosure in Ohio
Ohio earned a B and a top ten ranking overall
in 2007. The state made significant gains in
the Online Contextual and Technical Usability
category, jumping from a D+ to a B-.
Under
Ohio law, candidates must report detailed
information, including occupation and employer
data, about contributors giving more than $100,
and last-minute contributions must be reported
before Election Day. Campaign expenditure details
include accrued expenses, but subvendor payments
are not disclosed. Independent expenditures
must be reported, but last-minute independent
expenditures are not disclosed until after
Election Day. Both statewide and legislative
candidates reaching a $10,000 threshold must
file disclosure reports electronically. While
the state does offer an electronic filing “hardship” exemption,
very few candidates have claimed this hardship,
and those who do must pay the cost of data-entering
their paper reports.
Accessibility
of campaign disclosure records is excellent
in Ohio, with the state again achieving an
A- in this category in 2007. The Ohio Secretary
of State’s office continues
to offer one of the best online databases of
campaign finance records in the country, and
gives site visitors many ways to search, sort
and download itemized contributions and expenditures.
All candidates’ disclosure reports are
available online and can be either browsed
or searched, with campaign data available as
far back as 1990.
Ohio’s disclosure web site became much
more user-friendly following a redesign in
2005, earning the state a B- and a top ten
ranking in the usability category in 2007.
Testers found the site to be easier to understand
and rated their experience on the site more
favorably than before the redesign. Contextually,
the site provides clear information about what
data can be found online, and also gives site
visitors the ability to easily compare finances
across all campaigns from 1996 to the present.
The Secretary of State’s office could
improve the usability of the web site by labeling
amended reports as such, and retaining the
original filings.
→ Quick
Fix: Add a note to the site instructions
telling visitors that the database
is capable of conducting “name
starts with” searches and “name
contains” searches if the user
first enters the “ % ” character.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: Ohio’s searchable
databases offer a wide range of search
and output options. (View
image) From the search interface,
users can sort, download, and even select
a font size for their search results. (View
image)
 Disclosure Agency: Secretary of State
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.state.oh.us/sos
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