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The State of Disclosure in South Carolina
South Carolina was the second most improved
state in 2007 after implementing mandatory
electronic filing for statewide candidates
and posting campaign data online for the
first time in 2006. The state jumped 16
places in the rankings and earned its first
passing grade in this assessment in 2007.
South
Carolina’s
disclosure law earned a C+ again in 2007.
Candidates are required to disclose details
about contributors giving over $100,
including occupation, but not employer
data. Disclosure of loan details is strong,
and candidates must also report details
of all expenditures, including subvendor
payments and accrued expenses. Independent
expenditures are disclosed, but neither
last-minute independent expenditures
nor last-minute contributions are reported
prior to Election Day. Mandatory electronic
filing for statewide candidates was implemented
for the first time in 2006, earning South
Carolina a C in that category in 2007.
Currently, only statewide candidates
file electronically, though the State
Ethics Commission reports a new system
is being developed to extend electronic
filing to legislative candidates by the
end of 2007.
South
Carolina posted campaign data online
for the first time in 2006 and moved
14 places higher in the accessibility
rankings, despite again earning an F
in 2007. Currently, only statewide candidates’ reports
are available online, though this is expected
to change with the expansion of the electronic
filing program. The Commission’s
web site features a new database of campaign
contributions that can be searched by donor
name, but not by date, amount or zip code.
Adding these fields and the ability to
sort or download the results would provide
the public with better tools for finding
specific data. Another significant improvement
that could be made would be the ability
to search campaign expenditures online.
South
Carolina received a higher rating from usability
testers and a passing grade in the usability
category in 2007. The majority of testers
found the cleanly-designed Ethics Commission
site very easy to understand. Despite the
ease of use of the site, there is significant
room for improvement in terms of contextual
information. A simple step that the Commission
could take would be to include the start
and end date of each reporting period, rather
than simply labeling reports by quarter (such
as Q1, Q2, etc.). Posting a comparison of
the total funds raised and spent by candidates
for each office would provide the public
with an overview of state campaign financing
trends.
→ Quick
Fix: Expand the contributions
database search options to include
amount, date and donor zip code,
all of which are found within the
search results.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: Site design is very clean
and campaign data is presented in
a clear and easy to read format. View
image
 Disclosure Agency: State Ethics Commission
Disclosure
Web Site: http://ethics.sc.gov
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