Isabella Carter
Political campaigns are often funded by a mix of individuals, businesses, and organizations, and it can be challenging to discern who is funding a particular campaign. However, there are several resources available to help voters understand the financial ties of their candidates. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. This database can be searched by the donor's name, recipient, contribution amount, and other filters. For state-level campaigns, resources such as FollowTheMoney.org and state-based organizations like the Virginia Public Access Project provide information on campaign finances and donations. Additionally, websites like OpenSecrets and mobile apps like Goods Unite Us help voters learn about the political contributions of companies and their senior employees.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Federal-level information | The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have contributed to federally registered political committees. |
| State-level information | For state-level races, followthemoney.org provides information on contributions and lobbyist relationships. State-based organizations, such as the Virginia Public Access Project, also track money in local elections. |
| Tools | The FEC website has a search tool to find individual contributions. Other tools include OpenSecrets, which aggregates contribution data, and Goods Unite Us, a mobile app that shows which political parties and candidates senior employees have donated to. |
| Reporting requirements | Campaigns must disclose the personal details of individuals who donate $200 or more. State candidates' reporting requirements vary based on state laws; small-dollar contributions may not require donor disclosure. |
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What You'll Learn
Search public records
Public records can be a useful source of information when trying to find out if someone worked on a political campaign. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) provides transparency by making a wide range of federal campaign finance reports and other documents available for public review and inspection. These include information filed by candidates and committees, as well as information about Commission activity. The FEC has a searchable donor database that allows users to browse by recipient or contributor and narrow results by factors such as zip code, occupation, employer, and contribution amount.
In addition to the FEC, there are other resources for searching public records related to political campaigns. For example, the National Institute on Money in Politics operates a tool called FollowTheMoney.org, which tracks donations to state and local campaigns. This platform allows users to select a state and office type to narrow down donation details for specific races. State-based organizations, such as the Virginia Public Access Project, also track money in local elections, and this information can often be found through a simple Google search.
It is also worth noting that individual states have their own laws regarding the accessibility of voting records. While some states may have programs to protect the confidentiality of certain voters' information, the public information in state voting records typically includes the voter's name, address, and party affiliation.
Furthermore, members of the public can submit public records requests to access additional information. This can be done through various platforms, such as the Power Search engine in California, which provides access to state-level campaign contribution data. By utilizing these public records resources, individuals can gain insights into the political activities of others, including their involvement in political campaigns.
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Use state-based tools
To find out if someone worked on a political campaign in a particular state in the US, you can use state-based tools and resources. Here are some steps you can take:
- Visit the official website of the Secretary of State for the specific state. The Secretary of State's office often maintains records related to state-level political campaigns and elections. For example, in California, you can access the Power Search engine on the Secretary of State's website, which provides access to raw data on state-level campaign contributions reported to the CAL-ACCESS system.
- Refer to the state election office websites. Each state will have an official election office website, typically ending in ".gov", which provides information about candidates on state ballots, election results, and financial disclosures. These websites may include databases or directories that allow you to search for individuals involved in political campaigns at the state level.
- Consult the Federal Election Commission (FEC) resources. While the FEC primarily deals with federal campaigns, it also provides information and resources related to state-level campaigns. The FEC website offers a list of state election offices and their contact information. Additionally, you can find campaign finance reports, which include details on contributions, expenditures, and committees. The FEC also maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees, which you can search by name, location, or employer.
- Review state-level public records. Many states have public records offices that provide access to campaign finance reports and other relevant documents. These offices may offer electronic access to federal and state campaign finance information. You can visit the physical office to view and copy documents or access them online through the state's official website.
- Utilize state-specific search engines or databases. Some states may have specialized search tools or databases designed to access state-level political campaign information. These tools can help you quickly search for contributions, expenditures, and other financial activities related to political campaigns within the state.
- Check state-level campaign finance laws and regulations. Each state has its own set of campaign finance laws and regulations, which are often available on the state's official website. Familiarizing yourself with these laws can help you understand the reporting requirements and the types of information that are publicly disclosed for political campaigns in that particular state.
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Check federal databases
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) provides transparency by making a wide range of federal campaign finance reports and other documents available for public review and inspection. The FEC has a wide array of information available on the public record, such as information filed by candidates and committees, as well as information about Commission activity.
The FEC website provides resources and guides to help the public find and explore the campaign finance filings and other documents that are on the public record. The Public Records Office publishes the Combined Federal/State Disclosure and Election Directory, a compilation of state addresses, phone numbers, web addresses, and other contact information for federal and state offices. The Public Records Office Federal Election Commission is located at 1050 First Street, NE Washington, DC. There is a $0.05 fee per page for paper and microfilm copies of reports, while many computer printouts and publications are free of charge.
The FEC website also provides written instructions on how to download and use .FEC files, the agency's raw data files containing campaign finance data. The data descriptions include data codes and file formats, which are included with the data files on the bulk data page.
The Commission maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. Data on individual contributors includes the following: last and/or first name, employer or occupation, city, state and/or zip code, date of the contribution, amount of the contribution, and the committee receiving the contribution. Individual contributor searches may be performed using one or more filters to narrow the search.
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Research brand affiliations
Consumers are increasingly conscious of the political affiliations of their favourite brands. In fact, a survey by Morning Consult found that nearly a third of millennials say they won't buy from a business that has different political positions to their own.
There are several tools available that allow users to research the brand affiliations of individuals. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) website, for example, allows users to search for individual contributions by the donor's name, revealing who or what organisation they donated to, as well as the amount and date of the donation. However, the FEC's database can be overwhelming to navigate. As such, other tools have been developed to make this data more accessible. OpenSecrets, an online portal from the Center for Responsive Politics, aggregates contribution data in an easy-to-read format. The Center has also ranked the organisations that have donated the most money to political causes. Power Search is another useful tool, which accesses raw data of state-level campaign contributions reported to the Secretary of State's CAL-ACCESS campaign finance filing and disclosure system.
There are also tools that allow users to search for the political affiliations of brands, rather than individuals. Goods Unite Us is a free mobile app that allows users to search for a company and learn about which political parties and candidates senior employees have donated to. Financial news website MarketWatch compiled the political contributions of every CEO of an S&P 500 company during the 2018 midterm election cycle and created a searchable database. Zippia, a job search portal, has a similar tool but on a broader scale. For each company, the site aggregates the contributions of every employee whose donations were publicly available.
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Review financial summaries
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. The FEC website includes a Campaign Finance Data section with financial summary data that can be downloaded and used with spreadsheets. The FEC is mandated by law to make designations, statements, reports, and notifications publicly available on its website within 48 hours of receipt (or 24 hours if filed electronically).
The FEC database can be searched by an individual contributor's first and/or last name, employer or occupation, city, state and/or zip code, date or amount of the contribution, or the committee receiving the contribution. However, the FEC website can be overwhelming to navigate due to the large volume of information.
To address this, other tools and websites have been created to help distill complex political contribution data into actionable insights. For example, the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit and non-partisan organization, operates OpenSecrets, which aggregates contribution data in an easy-to-read format. OpenSecrets offers access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, personal financial disclosures, candidate lists, and lobbying activities. Data on OpenSecrets spans more than 30 years, and the website includes data from the FEC as well as other sources such as the Senate Office of Public Records and state agencies.
In addition to OpenSecrets, there are other websites and tools that provide information on political contributions. For instance, Goods Unite Us is a free mobile app that allows users to search for a company and learn about the political contributions of its senior employees. Financial news website MarketWatch compiled a searchable database of political contributions made by CEOs of S&P 500 companies during the 2018 midterm election cycle. Zippia, a job search portal, has a similar tool that aggregates the contributions of employees from various companies. For state-level races, followthemoney.org, a joint project of the National Institute on Money and Politics and the Campaign Finance Institute, provides a database of contributions and lobbyist relationships.
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Frequently asked questions
You can search for the person's name in the Federal Election Commission (FEC) database. The FEC maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees.
By law, campaigns and political action committees must disclose the personal details of individuals who donate $200 or more. You can search these individual contributions by the donor's name on the FEC website. There are also third-party websites and apps, such as OpenSecrets, FollowTheMoney, and Goods Unite Us, that aggregate and analyze political contribution data.
You can use third-party websites and apps, such as OpenSecrets, Zippia, and Goods Unite Us, to search for which political parties and candidates a company has donated to.
For local and state-level campaigns, you can use websites such as followthemoney.org, which includes data on state and local campaigns. You can also search for state-based organizations that track money in local elections, such as the Virginia Public Access Project.
