The National Institute on Money in State Politics creates and makes available the nation’s only complete state-level database of political contributions reported by all state candidates, political party committees, and ballot measure committees.
What the Institute does not have are mapping features that correlate how contributions reported by candidates correlate with the number of eligible, registered, or actual voters in their districts.
The Institute has geocoded the addresses of political donors and recipients and has incorporated legislative district maps for all 50 states. Public websites for all 50 states make available the numbers of eligible v. registered voters in state legislative districts, and vote counts from elections.
The Institute’s databases reveal previously hidden relationships and empower investigation of special interest influence on elections and public policy decisions. We collect and make available open access at www.FollowTheMoney.org the nation’s only comprehensive 50-state database of political contribution records for all state elections back to 2000. Contribution records are complete for all political party committees, ballot measure committees, candidates for legislative and statewide office (governor, public utility commission, etc.), and judicial candidates for high courts. In 2006, we added judicial candidates for state appellate courts. In 2008, we added annual state registration information reported by100,000+ lobbyists and principals. From 2010 to 2013, we added contribution records for political action committees in 25 states, independent spending entities in 30 states, and judicial candidates for district court in 10 states. The Institute’s newest project for 2014: the nation’s first multi-state open access database of lobbying expenditure records for up to 25 states.
Institute researchers add value to the records by coding political donors to 400 business and interest categories to empower cross-state investigation of influence. New entity resolution codes for individual and company political donors and recipients will empower research up and down level of government (local, state, federal) and across activities: political contributions, independent spending, lobbying, revolving-door positions, legislative sponsors, legislative committee assignments, more.
Institute data was used by more than 600,000 unique website visitors last year at our website. Thousands more used Institute data that also fuels websites created by other organizations, including Sunlight Foundation, Campaign Finance Institute, MapLight, and many more.
Mapping dollar-per-voter numbers for legislative districts would reveal answers to questions such as:
Importantly, it may also reveal how close races are and demonstrate that the political divide is closer to the middle than the public perception. Those who may tout red over blue, or vice versa, may get an informed view that the nation is much closer to a nonpartisan purple, than dominated by either party.
The fellow will investigate a variety of GIS analyses from a political science perspective. As valuable linkages are discovered, the GIS tools will be adapted into visualizations, blog posts, and other new features for FollowTheMoney.org.
The Institute regularly publishes original analyses and new tools on its website and other media, helping bring attention to the effects of money and other forms of influence on our political system. Institute trainers present the Institute’s resources at more than 50 national/state conferences and other meetings each year.
The work produced under this partnership will be seen and potentially covered by the more than 4,000 news reporters who have their own myFollowTheMoney accounts to receive information on states/topics they select. As mapping features are developed across the summer, we will announce the new tools in press releases and email alerts, at conferences we attend, and via our blog, The Money Tale.
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