Helpful Hints
Getting data from the “Search Candidates and Committees” Queries
What kind of campaign finance data are you looking for? The answer to this question will determine which queries you will need to use. Our Search Candidates and Committees Web page is divided into five tabs:
These tabs are:
1. Candidates/PAC/Party
This tab is divided into two sections:
SIMPLE SEARCH: This option offers a very broad search of the database based upon a small amount of user-provided information such as a name of a contributor or candidate.
ADVANCED SEARCH: This option allows the user to query the database based upon multiple known criteria. Examples of advanced searches would be a search on all contributions to a particular candidate within a specific time frame or a search on all PAC cover pages for the 2010 Pre-Primary report.
The Simple Search was designed for users who want to search on a single piece of information such as a name. The search will return all committees, contributions, expenditures and loan/debts that have that name somewhere in the data. You can also limit your search with a date range:
The Advanced Search has more options and allows the user to search on different categories of data such as committees, cover pages, contributions and expenditures:
Each of these is designed to assist in the retrieval of a certain type of campaign finance information.
Committee information
This search will allow you to locate the committee name, address, treasurer and PAC number (when applicable). This feature will also take you to a list of the reports filed by this entity. Cover page, contribution and expenditure detail of a specific report can be accessed via this method. The result of this search is displayed on the screen and can be printed. The results may also be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet. Please note that if you search on a candidate, only the most recent office sought will be listed.
Cover Page Information
This feature allows you to query on candidate, parties/LCFs and PACs cover pages based on such criteria as office, district, year, etc. This is useful for comparison of balances on hand or the amount of money raised. This information can be viewed in on the screen or easily downloaded into Excel.
Contribution Information
This feature is used to determine if a particular individual or committee has contributed to a candidate, party/LCF or PAC/PCE. It can also be used to look at the contributions a committee reported receiving. This information can be viewed on the screen, printed or easily downloaded into Excel.
Expenditure Information
This feature is used to look at the expenditures a committee(s) made or to search on a particular name to determine if a committee has made such an expenditure. This information can be viewed on the screen, printed or easily downloaded into Excel.
Items 2,3 & 4 represent three different types of entities. While the type of query options (cover page, income, expenses, etc) for these entities may be similar to those above, the wording of queries is not the same.
2. State Retirement System Board (SRB)
Since 2005, candidates for election to the boards of one of Ohio’s five public employee retirement systems are required to file campaign finance reports if they receive contributions or make expenditures to get elected. The five retirement systems are:
- Ohio Public Employees Retirement System
- State Teachers Retirement System
- School Employees Retirement System
- Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund
- State Highway Patrol Retirement System
On this page, three search options will be available:
- SRB Committees
- SRB Candidate Contributions
- SRB Candidate Expenditures
3. Electioneering Communications (EC)
Generally speaking, Electioneering Communication is any communication that refers to a candidate and that is distributed via a broadcast, cable or satellite means and is not otherwise considered an expenditure
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On this page, six search options will be available - ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION ENTITY (ECE) SEARCH
- ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION ENTITIES (ECE) SUMMARY PAGES
- CONTRIBUTIONS TO ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION ENTITIES (ECE)
- ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION ENTITIES (ECE) DISBURSEMENTS
- CANDIDATES IDENTIFIED IN ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION
- NOTICE OF INTENT TO MAKE ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION DISBURSEMENTS
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4. Transition Funds
Starting in 2010, officeholders elected or appointed to any elective office may set up a separate account to receive donations to pay the cost of inaugural or transitional activities. This transition fund is separate from the candidate’s campaign committee and may only be open for no more than 120 days.
On this page there are four search options:
- Transition Committees
- Cover Pages
- Transition Donations
- Transition Disbursements
Please feel free to contact Campaign Finance staff for additional assistance at (614) 466 – 3111 or by e-mail.
5. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
The FTP system is the method by which large amounts of some of the most commonly requested campaign finance data have already been queried and placed in a downloadable file. An example of the data available would be all Candidate Contributions for the Year 2009. The primary target audiences of the FTP system are the media, academics and other person or organization looking for large amounts of campaign finance data.
Hints for using the Download FTP Reports
The key to using the FTP site is remembering that it was designed to assist users to access large amounts of campaign finance data easily. Once at the main FTP page you will see a long list of candidate, party and PAC files. To download a file click on the “download” link on the far right of the screen. The system will then proceed to download the file into excel or provide you will an opportunity to download the file to the location on your computer (the settings on your computer will dictate this). You may see a series of dialog boxes on your screen asking you if you want to run or save the zipped .exe file. Follow the dialog boxes for whichever you chose telling the computer where you want the files saved. The end result will be a .csv file that you can open in Excel or some other database application. Please remember that some of the files may be too large to open in Excel and will need to be opened in some other type of database application.
Please feel free to contact Campaign Finance staff for additional assistance at (614) 466 – 3111 or by e-mail.
DISCLAIMER - PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS IN THIS DATABASE CONTAIN BOTH AUDITED AND UNAUDITED DATA. AS REPORTS ARE AUDITED AND AMENDED, IF NECESSARY, THE DATA MAY CHANGE. THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION AVAILABLE IS REFLECTED ON THE DATABASE.