Highest
Ranked States |
Lowest
Ranked States |
Rank & Grade |
State |
State |
Rank & Grade |
| 1/A |
Washington |
41/F |
New Mexico |
| 2/A |
California |
42/F |
Nebraska |
| 3/A- |
Michigan |
43/F |
Vermont |
| 4/B+ |
Oregon |
44/F |
Mississippi |
| 5/B+ |
Florida |
45/F |
Nevada |
| Virginia (tied) |
46/F |
Delaware |
| 7/B |
Hawaii |
47/F |
North Dakota |
| Missouri (tied) |
48/F |
South Dakota |
| 9/B |
Colorado |
49/F |
Alabama |
| 10/B |
New Jersey |
50/F |
Wyoming |
|
Twenty-six
states earned a higher grade in 2008 than in
2007, 22 earned the same grade, and two states
earned lower grades than last year. Montana
earned the distinction of being the most improved
state since 2007. Ten states were found to have
unsatisfactory campaign disclosure programs
and received Fs in 2008; all of these states
also failed in 2007. However, there were four
states that failed in 2007 that passed in 2008
(Arkansas, New Hampshire, Montana, and Utah).
Washington’s campaign disclosure program has earned the top overall grade and rank in each of the five Grading State Disclosure studies. Washington has earned a grade in the A range in each year of the study and was joined by California and Michigan as the only states to earn an A in 2008. Along with the three As, 21 states earned Bs, a dramatic increase over 2003 when just one A and one B were awarded. Of the remaining states, nine earned Cs, seven earned Ds and ten failed.
Most
Improved States |
Since
2007 |
Since
2003 |
1.
Montana |
1.
Tennessee |
2.
Arkansas |
2.
South Carolina |
3.
Tennessee |
3.
Oregon |
4.
West Virginia |
4.
Iowa &
Missouri (tied) |
5.
Arizona &
New Hampshire (tied) |
The following sections detail the findings within each of the four grading categories: Campaign Disclosure Law, Electronic Filing Programs, Disclosure Content Accessibility, and Online Contextual and Technical Usability. Charts, maps, and other findings are available on the “Charts, Maps and Statistics” page, and “State-by-State Summaries and Rankings” are also presented within this report.
|
