The State of Disclosure in Idaho
After earning a D in the 2003 assessment,
Idaho has earned Cs in the last four assessments,
though the state has dropped in the rankings
each year since 2004 as other states have
improved. Idaho ranked 2nd in the Online
Contextual and Technical Usability category
in 2008, and has ranked in the top ten in
this area in each of the five assessments.
Idaho
earned a B- and ranked 23rd in the Campaign
Disclosure Law category in 2008. Candidates
must report details about contributors
giving more than $50, but occupation and
employer data are not disclosed. Expenditure
reporting is stronger, requiring disclosure
of expenses of $25 or more, including subvendor
data and accrued expenditures. Last-minute
contributions and independent expenditures
are disclosed prior to elections, and the
law’s enforcement provisions include
mandatory desk reviews and field audits.
Idaho still does not offer an electronic
filing option, but the Secretary of State’s
office reports that such a program may be
available within the next few years.
Idaho
earned the same grade in the accessibility
category as in 2007, and ranked 29th this
year. Idaho is one of just three states that
do not offer an electronic filing program
but do provide an online, searchable database
of campaign contributions. The Secretary
of State’s office data-enters all campaign
finance data, making itemized contributions
available through a database that is searchable
by donor name or zip code and contribution
amount. While search results cannot be sorted
or downloaded, the public can easily download
larger files that contain all itemized contributions
and expenditures for a given election cycle.
The site’s main weakness is the lack
of a searchable expenditures database. Idaho
makes disclosure reports available almost
immediately by posting scanned copies of
reports online the same day they are received
and data-entry is completed within a week.
Idaho
again earned a perfect rating on the Grading
State Disclosure usability test, and earned
an A+ and ranked 2nd in the usability category
in 2008. The Secretary of State’s
site is well laid out and easy to navigate,
and most testers reported they were “very
confident” in the data they found on
the site. Idaho’s site contains thorough
descriptions of the disclosure data available,
as well as instructions for how to access
the data. The Secretary of State’s
office provides clear online summaries of
the totals raised and spent by candidates
from 1994 to present, which gives the public
an excellent overview of campaign financing
trends in Idaho.
→ Quick
Fix: Allow database search results
to be sorted online and downloaded
for offline analysis.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: Summary reports displaying
totals raised and spent by all
candidates from 1994 to present. View
image
Disclosure Agency: Secretary of State
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.idsos.state.id.us |