David Poole
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VPAP's Latest Goal Is to Shine Light on Local Elections
By David Poole,
Times-Dispatch guest columnist
When it comes to money in politics, Virginia is one of the few states where the sky is the limit. There are no restrictions on corporate giving to state and local candidates and no limits on how much any single donor can give. Anything goes in Virginia -- as long as the donations are disclosed.
Virginia stands in contrast to federal elections, in which the government has enacted laws and promulgated regulations aimed at limiting the influence of money in politics. An argument can be made that the 2002 McCain-Feingold reform has not only failed to stem the tide of money in politics, but has driven money into hard-to-track groups that are beyond the reach of the Federal Election Commission. Many Virginia legislators have concluded that federal campaign finance reforms at best have been ineffective and at worst counterproductive.
In Virginia, politicians remain self-regulated. Candidates for state office can accept donations from nearly anyone and in any amount. The theory behind the Virginia system is that candidates will conduct their campaign fundraising in a way that avoids the perception of being captive to special interests. The idea is that campaign finance disclosures will create an efficient marketplace where voters will punish any politician who is seen as more responsive to "cash constituents" than to the citizens he represents.
Anything Goes in Fundraising
Virginia's disclosure-based system is not perfect. Critics say the anything-goes approach gives wealthy individuals and profitable companies an inside track to elected representatives. And millions of dollars that flow through nonprofit groups and labor unions go unreported. But there has been no serious movement within the General Assembly to impose limits or to consider reforms such as public financing. For Virginia's free-market experiment to work, voters must be able to learn where candidates get their money and how they spend it.
The nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project provides transparency by taking candidates' campaign finance reports and making them available free to the public at VPAP.org. Anyone with a computer and modem can sort and slice donations to state legislative candidates by amount, name, occupation, and ZIP Code. The VPAP does not interpret the data, but allows citizens to draw their own conclusions. One newspaper has called the VPAP's database a "remarkable cyberplace" where the public can "learn a lot more about the candidates by tracking their money than by listening to their stump speeches."
Visitors who are familiar with the transparency that the VPAP provides in state legislative elections have come to expect the same ease of access to information about money in local politics. Sadly, this is not the case.
Rules Make Research Difficult
In most counties, citizens who are interested in money raised by candidates for local office must present themselves at the county courthouse during normal business hours. There, citizens are presented with a stack of paper campaign finance disclosure reports. (The stack can be quite thick in places such as Loudoun, where candidates for chairman of the Board of Supervisors raised a total of $750,000 in 2003.) Because candidates are required to file eight reports during 2007, citizens must return time and again to keep up with the latest information. This is too much to ask of even the most committed voter.
This year, VPAP will mark its 10th anniversary with a pilot project aimed at bringing "digital sunlight" to money raised by candidates for local office. The VPAP will distill paper documents from about a dozen counties into an online database and update the information through the November election.
The long-term goal is to bring about the day when citizens no longer have to trudge down to the courthouse for campaign finance information. As has been learned in state elections, electronic disclosure is much easier to achieve if candidates file the information electronically. Currently, candidates for local office have no choice but to hand-deliver paper disclosure documents to their voter registration office. The 2007 General Assembly passed legislation that empowers local candidates to e-file disclosure reports starting in July 2007. The VPAP will work with the State Board of Elections to recruit the first generation of local candidates willing to take the progressive step to paperless campaign finance filings.
David Poole is the founder and executive director of the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit dedicated to improving public understanding of money in politics.
VPAP's Latest Goal Is to Shine Light on Local Elections
By David Poole,
Times-Dispatch guest columnist
When it comes to money in politics, Virginia is one of the few states where the sky is the limit. There are no restrictions on corporate giving to state and local candidates and no limits on how much any single donor can give. Anything goes in Virginia -- as long as the donations are disclosed.
Virginia stands in contrast to federal elections, in which the government has enacted laws and promulgated regulations aimed at limiting the influence of money in politics. An argument can be made that the 2002 McCain-Feingold reform has not only failed to stem the tide of money in politics, but has driven money into hard-to-track groups that are beyond the reach of the Federal Election Commission. Many Virginia legislators have concluded that federal campaign finance reforms at best have been ineffective and at worst counterproductive.
In Virginia, politicians remain self-regulated. Candidates for state office can accept donations from nearly anyone and in any amount. The theory behind the Virginia system is that candidates will conduct their campaign fundraising in a way that avoids the perception of being captive to special interests. The idea is that campaign finance disclosures will create an efficient marketplace where voters will punish any politician who is seen as more responsive to "cash constituents" than to the citizens he represents.
Anything Goes in Fundraising
Virginia's disclosure-based system is not perfect. Critics say the anything-goes approach gives wealthy individuals and profitable companies an inside track to elected representatives. And millions of dollars that flow through nonprofit groups and labor unions go unreported. But there has been no serious movement within the General Assembly to impose limits or to consider reforms such as public financing. For Virginia's free-market experiment to work, voters must be able to learn where candidates get their money and how they spend it.
The nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project provides transparency by taking candidates' campaign finance reports and making them available free to the public at VPAP.org. Anyone with a computer and modem can sort and slice donations to state legislative candidates by amount, name, occupation, and ZIP Code. The VPAP does not interpret the data, but allows citizens to draw their own conclusions. One newspaper has called the VPAP's database a "remarkable cyberplace" where the public can "learn a lot more about the candidates by tracking their money than by listening to their stump speeches."
Visitors who are familiar with the transparency that the VPAP provides in state legislative elections have come to expect the same ease of access to information about money in local politics. Sadly, this is not the case.
Rules Make Research Difficult
In most counties, citizens who are interested in money raised by candidates for local office must present themselves at the county courthouse during normal business hours. There, citizens are presented with a stack of paper campaign finance disclosure reports. (The stack can be quite thick in places such as Loudoun, where candidates for chairman of the Board of Supervisors raised a total of $750,000 in 2003.) Because candidates are required to file eight reports during 2007, citizens must return time and again to keep up with the latest information. This is too much to ask of even the most committed voter.
This year, VPAP will mark its 10th anniversary with a pilot project aimed at bringing "digital sunlight" to money raised by candidates for local office. The VPAP will distill paper documents from about a dozen counties into an online database and update the information through the November election.
The long-term goal is to bring about the day when citizens no longer have to trudge down to the courthouse for campaign finance information. As has been learned in state elections, electronic disclosure is much easier to achieve if candidates file the information electronically. Currently, candidates for local office have no choice but to hand-deliver paper disclosure documents to their voter registration office. The 2007 General Assembly passed legislation that empowers local candidates to e-file disclosure reports starting in July 2007. The VPAP will work with the State Board of Elections to recruit the first generation of local candidates willing to take the progressive step to paperless campaign finance filings.
David Poole is the founder and executive director of the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit dedicated to improving public understanding of money in politics.
