The
addition of online, searchable contribution
and expenditure databases boosted Pennsylvania’s
overall grade from a D to a C+ in 2007.
Pennsylvania earned the distinction of
being one of the five most improved states
overall, and moved into the top ten rankings
in the Disclosure Content Accessibility
category.
Pennsylvania’s disclosure law ranked
16th and earned a B again in 2007. The
law requires candidates to report details
about all contributions of $50 or more;
for donors giving $250 or more, occupation
and employer data must be disclosed. Expenditure
disclosure is also good, with candidates
reporting accrued expenses, but not subvendor
payments. Last-minute contributions and
independent expenditures must be reported
prior to Election Day. Pennsylvania law
does not require candidates to file disclosure
reports electronically, though voluntary
electronic filing is available. The Department
of State reported that 85 percent of statewide
candidates chose the electronic filing
option in the last election, a significant
improvement over the previous election,
when 30 percent reportedly used the system.
However, 80 percent of the state’s
legislative candidates continue to file
paper reports.
Pennsylvania’s
Disclosure Content Accessibility grade
soared in 2007 (from an F to an A) with
the addition of online, searchable databases
of contributions and expenditures in
late 2005. Site visitors can search both
electronic filings and data-entered paper-filed
reports through the database, and search
results can be sorted online. Users can
also download itemized data found within
specific campaign reports. Electronic
filings become available online the day
of the filing deadline and data-entered
paper reports are typically posted online
within 72 hours of receipt. The state
also maintains low-cost paper copies
of disclosure reports and provides access
to campaign data on disk.
The
usability of Pennsylvania’s
disclosure site improved as well. Usability
testers reported higher confidence levels
with the site’s data than in 2005,
though confusion over terminology was also
reported. The state has improved the contextual
information online with the inclusion a
new database “Help!” page and
a “Frequently Asked Questions” page.
The site could be further enhanced with
comparisons of the money raised and spent
by candidates to give an overview of campaign
financing trends in Pennsylvania.
→ Quick
Fix: Give site visitors the ability
to download database search results
into a spreadsheet format.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: The “Frequently
Asked Questions” page
provides a thorough description of the
data available, including which candidates'
files are accessible online, and the
reports and the time period covered by
the database. View
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