The
passage of comprehensive campaign finance
legislation in 2005 boosted Oregon from
a C- and the 24th ranking in 2005 to
a B+ and 3rd place overall in 2007. Oregon
ranked higher in each scoring category
and was the most improved state in 2007.
Oregon’s strengthened disclosure
law earned an A and ranks second in the
nation in 2007. Candidates must provide
detailed information on all contributors
over $100, including occupation and employer
data. The new law also requires more frequent
reporting by candidates, including additional
last-minute reports. Expenditure disclosure
is excellent, with all payments (including
subvendor expenses) over $100 reported.
All state-level candidates raising $2,000
are required to file disclosure reports
electronically. The Secretary of State’s
office has created the “Oregon Elections
System for Tracking and Reporting” (ORESTAR),
an innovative, web-based electronic filing
and disclosure system launched in 2007.
Oregon’s new reporting system is
unique in that transactions are reported
continuously (other states require candidates
to file periodic reports). The result in
Oregon is immediate, ongoing disclosure
of campaign data online. Along with the
new reporting system, the Secretary of
State’s web site now features a searchable
campaign finance database of contributions
and expenditures that allows users to easily
find, sort and download disclosure data.
The database search options could be enhanced
by adding contributor zip code and employer
fields, both of which can be accessed within
the search results. Oregon provides excellent
access to paper reports as well, and offers
data on disk for $5.
Oregon’s
grade in the Online Contextual and Technical
Usability category rose from a D to a
C in 2007 as the state improved its usability
test performance. Testers found the site
easy to understand and gave higher overall
ratings than in 2005. However, there
is room for improvement. The site does
not provide a comprehensive explanation
of the universe of data available online,
nor specific instructions for using the
ORESTAR database. Overviews of funds raised
and spent by candidates in the 2006 elections
are not available online; however, the
site does provide thorough comparisons
of campaign financing from 2000 through
2004.
→ Quick
Fix: Add a page to the ORESTAR
database search system describing
which candidates’ campaign
data is available, the time periods
covered, and instructions for accessing
the data online.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: Database search
results are cleanly presented and
can be sorted by column heading
as well as downloaded. View image
