Online Database
The Ohio Secretary of State’s campaign finance databases allow users to search, retrieve and download the campaign finance data filed with the office. Pursuant to R.C. 3517.106(E), this information must be available to the public through the Internet within five business days after the Secretary of State has received the reports. There are two ways to retrieve the campaign finance data.
The first way is to use the “Search Candidates and Committees” link to access the Campaign Finance Query System. This system allows users to search campaign finance data filed by any of the committees that file with this office. A search may be done on a number of criteria including name of the candidate or contributor, address, date, amount, etc. The results of the search may be viewed on the screen, printed or downloaded. This system is the overall easiest to use especially for those persons looking for specific campaign finance data or for a specific report
The second way to obtain campaign finance data is to use the “Download Common Reports Via FTP” application. The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) system is the method by which the most commonly requested campaign finance data have already been queried and placed in a downloadable file. The primary users of the FTP system are the media and persons looking for large amounts of campaign finance data.
The campaign finance databases contain much information on campaign finance committees; including cover page figures, contribution data and expenditure information. The following types of committees are included in the database:
Candidates Campaign Committees
| Attorney General | Auditor of State |
| Governor | Judge, State Court of Appeals |
| Secretary of State | State House of Representatives |
| State Senate | State Board of Education |
| State Retirement Boards | Supreme Court Chief Justice |
| Supreme Court Justice | Treasurer of State |
Political Parties
State Political Party Funds
County Political Party Funds
Other Committees
Political Action Committees (PACs)
Political Contributing Entities (PCEs)
Legislative Campaign Funds (LCFs)
Electioneering Communication Enties
The campaign finance database covers from 1990 to present. However, each type of committees does not have data for that entire period. The section on data history details what data is available for each type of reporting entity.
Campaign Finance Reports of Federal Candidates and Committees can be viewed from the Federal Elections Commission’s Web site at http://www.fec.gov/.
DISCLAIMER-PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS IN THIS DATABASE CONTAINS BOTH AUDITED AND UNAUDITED DATA. AS REPORTS ARE AUDITED, THE DATA MAY CHANGE. THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION AVAILABLE IS REFLECTED ON THE DATABASE
Other information:
Data history
Types of reports
Helpful hints
Output and printing hints