Progress Report #1
by Kim Alexander,
with research assistance from Amy Howard
Published June 16, 1997, © California Voter Foundation.
• • • • •
Progress Report #1
by Kim Alexander,
with research assistance from Amy Howard
Published June 16, 1997, © California Voter Foundation.
• • • • •
Are campaign contributions just a mouseclick away? In a growing number of places, the answer is yes. Across the country, efforts are underway to provide the public with Internet access to political disclosure records, such as campaign contributions and expenditures. While most jurisdictions already require public disclosure of campaign finance data, these records are usually made available to the public in a paper format at the filing agency’s office.
“For a long time, when it came
to public access to
campaign finance records, citizens
were forced to struggle along a dusty paper trail,”
according to Pennsylvania
Governor Tom Ridge, who is leading that state’s online disclosure efforts. “Despite instantaneous
communications, such as the Internet and the information superhighway, access to
information about those who seek public office lagged behind, stuck in the rut of
paper files and manual retrievals,” Ridge stated in a recent news release.
But that’s rapidly changing, as more and more states experiment with electronic filing
and other methods of delivering data to filing agencies in a digital, rather than
paper format, thereby allowing for immediate publication on the Internet. Last week,
in an historic vote, the California State Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill
that would require candidates and other filers to submit their records electronically,
and require the Secretary of State to publish the data on the Internet.
“Our current disclosure system is a technological dinosaur,”
complains California State Senator Betty Karnette, a Long Beach Democrat and author of SB 49. “It is unbelievable that California, the computer capital of the entire world, still relies on paper filings for campaign and lobbying reports.”
• • • • •
Two decades ago, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, new laws were enacted across the country requiring public disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures. It was hoped that public disclosure would deter politicians from being unduly influenced by their political patrons. But since the 1970’s, the cost of campaigns has skyrocketed. In a typical California election season, campaigns will raise and spend around $300 million, all of it disclosed to the public on half a million pieces of paper sitting in files at the Secretary of State's office in Sacramento.
While the California Legislature considers mandatory electronic
filing legislation, Secretary
of State Bill Jones, a Republican from Fresno, is moving
forward with plans to implement a voluntary electronic filing system for the 1998
election. “Our goal has been to give the people of California real and immediate
access to political campaign contribution and expenditure information,” explains
Jones, who is also a strong supporter of SB 49 and mandatory electronic filing.
Jones, Karnette and Ridge are among a growing number of politicians leading efforts
across the country to shed digital sunlight on campaign finance practices
by requiring digital disclosure and Internet publication of campaign finance records.
Though details of state plans may vary, they
all promote a similar idea:
give the public timely, convenient
and meaningful
access to disclosure records.
• • • • •
The California Voter Foundation recently surveyed efforts underway in seven states to move from a paper-based filing system to a digital one:
Maryland --
On May 22, Governor Parris Glendening signed a bill passed by the
Maryland Legislature in April that requires digital disclosure by statewide candidates
beginning in 1997, and all other candidates by 1999. The legislation also requires
the State Board of Elections to provide candidates with filing software.
Wisconsin -- Governor
Tommy Thompson’s Blue
Ribbon Commission on Campaign Finance Reform released its final report last week which included the recommendations that electronic filing be
required for all statewide and legislative candidates who raise or spend $20,000
or more, and that the State Elections Board provide technical training for candidates.
In addition, several digital disclosure proposals are currently circulating in the
Wisconsin State Legislature.
Pennsylvania --
Governor Tom Ridge has been leading efforts to computerize Pennsylvania’s campaign
finance data since 1996. Just last month, the Pennsylvania Legislature approved a
$370,000 appropriation to finance Ridge’s plan, which calls for a combination of
diskette filing and data entry to bring about online disclosure.
Illinois -- The
Legislature recently passed a bill requiring that all disclosure reports be placed
on the Internet, and authorizing the use of electronic filing. The bill, which is
currently on Governor Jim Edgar’s desk, would also eliminate a law that requires
anyone who wants to view a disclosure report to first fill out a form, called the
D-3 form, providing their name, address, occupation and reason for looking looking
at the report. The bill would also do away with the requirement that the State Board
of Elections notify politicians when their reports have been viewed, and send them
a copy of the viewer’s D-3 form.
Virginia -- The
Virginia Legislature passed a bill earlier this year which was signed into law by
Governor George F. Allen directing the State Board of Elections to develop an electronic
filing system by 1999. In the meantime, a consortium of newspapers, working with
a new non-profit organization called the Virginia
Public Access Project, has developed an Internet-accessible database. Ten of the eleven
candidates running in three statewide contests this year have voluntarily agreed
to supply their contributions to the project on diskette.
Indiana -- Last
month, Governor Frank O’Bannon signed a bill requiring the Indiana Election Commission to develop an electronic
filing system and train candidates how to use it.
California --
On June 4, the State Senate passed SB 49/Karnette, a bill that would
require statewide candidates who raise $100,000 or more to file their disclosure
reports on diskette in 1998, and all other candidates who raise $50,000 or more to
file electronically by 2000. SB 49 also requires the Secretary of State to publish
the records on the Internet. The Senate passed SB 49 on a strong, bi-partisan vote
of 31 - 7, marking the first time that house voted for online disclosure and electronic
filing. SB 49 now heads to the Assembly for consideration, where a similar bill passed
last year on a vote of 65-4. SB 49 is likely to be taken
up by the Assembly Elections Committee on June 30, 1997. In addition to these legislative
efforts, California Secretary of State Bill Jones announced plans in April to establish
a voluntary electronic filing system for the 1998 election.
• • • • •
Meanwhile, 13 other states, along with the Federal Elections Commission and several local jurisdictions including San Francisco, Seattle and New York City have already experimented with, or are in the process of developing digital disclosure systems. Hawaii’s new system, which allows candidates to file their reports over the Internet, is considered by many to be one of the most sophisticated and successful programs in the country.
But while there is growing support
for electronic filing and
online disclosure, many jurisdictions are finding that
moving from a paper system to a digital one is no easy task.
Often state election agencies lag behind the technology curve,
and may not be adequately prepared to produce web sites or manage digital records.
Technical issues still need to be worked out to ensure that agencies can authenticate
digital records and to ensure that online data is secure from tampering. And while
many legislatures have authorized the development of digital disclosure systems some,
like Illinois, have not provided filing agencies with any funding to complete the
job. Electronic filing also means the development of software or shareware that filers
can use to comply with the new laws.
One issue that has arisen in California and that is likely to pop up elsewhere is
privacy. The country’s disclosure laws were
written long before the Internet existed. Government agencies will need to strike
a balance between the public’s right to know and a donor’s right to privacy. Omitting a donor’s street address from the online records, while retaining
their city, state, zip code, occupation and employer data may provide that balance.
• • • • •
Next month, representatives from more than a dozen states will gather in Chicago to consider how states can work together to ease the transition into digital disclosure.
“We hope that the Chicago conference
will mark the
beginning of a long-term, collaborative effort,”
said Bob Watada, director of Hawaii’s
Campaign Spending Commission and coordinator of the Chicago
conference. “Every state is facing the same issues and questions as we move toward
online disclosure. The Chicago conference will give us a chance to compare systems,
avoid re-inventing the wheel, and learn from each others’ experiences.”
The Chicago conference will also provide an opportunity for states to begin discussing
a national standard filing format, which, if developed and adopted, would allow for
the integration of campaign finance data across jurisdictional lines while also ensuring
that candidates don’t have to alter their record-keeping practices when they run
for offices in different jurisdictions.
Although there is still much work to be done before all of the nation’s contribution
records are brought into the digital sunlight, a movement in that direction is clearly
underway, as politicians across the country respond to the public’s appetite for
better access to disclosure records.
The national movement is certainly aided by recent activities in California. Recognizing the Golden State's tendency to be a "bellweather
state" where new political movements sprout, a June 13th New York Times editorial highlighted the importance of the California Senate vote, noting
that
"...having the country’s
largest state in the fold
would be a major step forward....and may
provide
an incentive for other states that have yet to go on line."
Digitial sunlight is an issue that transcends partisan politics, and is a concept embraced by citizens, politicians and election agencies alike. At a time when there is much disagreement over how to best address the issue of money in politics, there is at least a growing consensus that we can and should shine a brighter light into the dark corners of campaign finance.
• • • • •
Kim Alexander is Executive Director of the California Voter Foundation, where
she has produced and directed several award-winning disclosure projects such as the
San Francisco
campaign finance database, Late
Contribution Watch, and the Digital
Sunlight Web site. Since 1995, Alexander has participated in, and monitored
the development of an electronic filing system for California. This report is available
for republication; please submit inquiries to kimalex@netcom.com.
More information about the movement toward online disclosure, as well
as a hyperlinked version of this news release, can be found at the Digital Sunlight
Web site, http://www.digitalsunlight.org. Special thanks to the Joyce Foundation
and the Columbia Foundation for their support of CVF's efforts to promote Internet
access to political disclosure data.
• • • • •
Contact Information for sources noted in this report:
• Hawaii: Bob Watada, Executive Director, Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, ph: 808-586-0285.
• Maryland: Deborah Povich, Executive Director of Maryland Common Cause, ph: 301-261-1566.• Wisconsin: Professor Don Kettl, Chairman of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Campaign Finance Reform and Director of the LaFollette Institute of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin, Madison, ph: 608-262-3581.
• Indiana: Mary Ann Tippett, Co-director of the Indiana Election Division, ph: 317-232-3942
• Pennsylvania: Jerry Feaser, Deputy Press Secretary for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, ph: 717-783-1116.
• Illinois: Ron Michaelson, Executive Director of Illinois State Board of Elections, ph: 217-782-1536.
• Virginia: David Poole, Virginia Public Access Project, ph: 804-353-4300.
http://www.pilotonline .com/voter/index.html
• California: Larry Sokol, consultant to Senator Betty Karnette, ph: 916-445-2601. Alfie Charles, Press Secretary for Secretary of State Bill Jones, ph: 916-653-6575. Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation, ph: 916-325-2120.
For additional contacts and online resources,
please
visit the Digital
Sunlight links Page and
directory of disclosure agencies.
• • • • •
this web page authored by Kim Alexander;
send additions or corrections to kimalex@netcom.com.
first published 6/12/97
last updated 7/11//97