The
Campaign Disclosure Project is a collaborative
effort of the UCLA School of Law, the Center
for Governmental Studies and the California
Voter Foundation and is supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
State
campaign finance disclosure agencies across
the country are responsible for receiving,
processing and auditing candidates’ campaign finance
filings; these agencies are also charged with
making those filings, and the data within, accessible
to the public. In addition to basic information
about statewide and legislative candidates’ backgrounds
and policy positions, voters also need to be
able to determine which individuals and organizations
are funding those candidates’ campaigns
if they are to have the opportunity to cast
a truly informed vote and participate meaningfully
in the election process.
Some
states provide better and more complete access
to information about the money that fuels campaigns
than others, through both a strong campaign
disclosure law and high-quality Internet access
to disclosure reports. The purpose
of the Campaign Disclosure Project’s Grading
State Disclosure 2005 study is to provide
an overview of how each state measures up to
a set standard for disclosure programs, as well
as to show how each state compares to others
around the country.
|
