Campaign Finance

Outlines objectives and actions to ensure success.

How do political journalists use campaign finance data?
Where does it come from?
- How do you use it?
- How do you ensure accuracy?
- What is the biggest problem with this?
What information do voters use to make decisions?
- Alternatives to ads?
How do activists curate their facts and write their stories?
- reach their audience?
- how can we make this easier?

Product Opportunity Assessment

Exactly what problem will this solve? (value proposition)
For whom do we solve that problem? (target market)
How big is the opportunity? (market size)
What alternatives are out there? (competitive landscape)
Why are we best suited to pursue this? (our differentiator)
Why now? (market window)
How will we get this product to market? (go-to-market strategy)
How will we measure success/make money from this product? (metrics/revenue strategy)
What factors are critical to success? (solution requirements)
Source ¹³

Value Proposition

Civic media work for the engagement of community members, either individually or collectively, in the improvement of our local community.

We are helping Oregon voters make bias-free informed decisions and empower journalists with easy access to accurate campaign finance data.

Journalists are used to looking at campaign finance data with a particular perspective: Seeing which candidate is raising the most, from whom, and how that money is later being spent. But Kagglers came back with more than a dozen novel applications of the data that could help reporters spot anomalies, find hidden influence and add rich metadata that could open up new reporting possibilities. Kaggle
When it comes to using data to understand politics, journalists are playing checkers while political consultants are playing chess. IRE
Raise awareness of political influence amongst Oregon voters.
- Television advertising is one of the most popular and most expensive ways to reach voters. ⁵

Target Users

Framework

Primary customer segments: Political journalist, civic activist, common voter.
Customers segment’s biggest problem : ??
Create provisional persona based on your assumptions
Conduct user discovery to validate or invalidate your assumptions about the effectiveness of the preliminary design.³
Revisit your problem space ⁴
Source ²

Journalist

(available upon request)

Voter

Political ideology
- 34.8% moderate
- 33.6% conservative (the 10th least conservative state)
- 27.9% liberal (the 5th most liberal state)
Political Parties
- 37.8% Democratic Party
- 29.9% Republican Party
- 24.4% "Non-affiliated" with any party
- 5.0% Independent Party
- 0.8% Libertarian Party
- 0.5% Pacific Green Party
- 1.7% with other political parties
Oregon counties with the largest percentage of whites have a voter turnout higher than counties with high non-white population. Oregon Political Geography: Demographics & Turnout
- Jefferson County is the least white in the state, over 19% Hispanic and 17% being Native American
- Morrow and Malheur counties in Eastern Oregon are nearly one third Hispanic and Native American combined
- Umatilla in Eastern Oregon has a combined Native American and Hispanic population of over 27%.
- Hood River County is nearly a third non-white, Marion County is nearly 29% non-white
- Multnomah and Washington, are over 24% and nearly 27% non-white respectively, having higher Asian and African American populations than the other counties as well as significant Hispanic populations.
- In comparison, Wallowa County had the smallest non-white voting age population in the state at about 4.4%.
- Conclusion If non-white participation increased significantly, Hispanic Oregonians in particular could become empowered in many communities, and could become pivotal voting blocs or even dominant in places like Woodburn and Salem, Hillsboro, Cornelius, Beaverton, Hood River, Hermiston, Ontario, and Madras, even in Portland and even in communities on the coast. But it could also lead to turning some Eastern and Central Oregon counties blue, and retaining Democratic strength on the coast. Malheur County is one of the reddest in the state, but it is hard to imagine Republicans winning by more than single digits there in a couple decades, given current trends and so long as participation among Hispanics there rises to near that among non-Hispanic whites.

Scripts

To examine the effectiveness of the preliminary design concept: ^{1, 3}

For the Journalist

Thank you for joining us today. The purpose of our session today is to review the design for a new site and get your opinions about it. As we review this design together, I will be asking you a series of questions about what you see and how you expect things to work. Please feel free to ask any questions and offer any observations during the session. There are no wrong answers or stupid questions. This product is in a very preliminary stage; do not be concerned if it acts in unexpected ways. Assume you have arrived at the office and need to write a story about corporate influence on voters in the State of Oregon about GMO labeling. Please show us how you would do that using this product

For the Voter

Thank you for joining us today. The purpose of our session today is to review the design for a new site and get your opinions about it. As we review this design together, I will be asking you a series of questions about what you see and how you expect things to work. Please feel free to ask any questions and offer any observations during the session. There are no wrong answers or stupid questions. This product is in a very preliminary stage; do not be concerned if it acts in unexpected ways. Assume you have arrived at the office and want to a story about corporate influence on voters in the State of Oregon about GMO labeling. Please show us how you would do that using this product

Outcomes

Document three user-identified assumptions that differed from the team’s
Capture at least three reactions to the proposed problem as a result of working with the artifact in the assumed context
Discover at least one additional context in which the participant would expect to use the artifact.
Identify at least one task the participant would do with the artifact in addition to the task proposed by the team

Market

Journalists, Oregon politics
- Audience
  - OPB
    - TV: 30,000 viewers per primetime program
      - 87% Registered voters
    - Radio: 408,000 weekly listeners
      - 92% registered voters
    - opb.org 385,000 visits per month
      - 94% registered voters
  - Willamette Weekly
    - 70,000 weekly circulation
    - Print: 335,000 monthly readership
    - Web: 1.4mm monthly sessions
Voters ⁶
- 2.2mm registered
- 1.5 votes cast
- 70% turnout

Competition

Primary

Sunlight Foundation Making government & politics more accountable & transparent
The Campaign Finance Information Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping journalists follow the campaign money trail on the national, state and local levels. The focus is on state, local and federal campaign finance data. The site offers:
- fee-based databases that track campaign contributions and federal contracts
- links to free information sources for state campaign contribution and spending data
- a collection of campaign finance media stories
- tips from reporters on how to cover campaign finance reform
Follow the Money: The nation's only free, nonpartisan, verifiable archive of contributions to political campaigns in all 50 states.
OpenGov Voices: Visualizing campaign finance data like never before and Techcrunch
CivicApps Making public data easy to find and easy to use.

Secondary

The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law unites thinkers and advocates in pursuit of a vision of inclusive and effective democracy. Their mission is to develop and implement an innovative, nonpartisan agenda of scholarship, public education, and legal action that promotes equality and human dignity, while safeguarding fundamental freedoms. The focus is on both state and federal campaign finance law. The site offers:
- an index of litigation
- analyses and op-eds
- a collection of publications which may be downloaded for free
The Brookings Institution is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis, education, and publication focused on public policy issues in the areas of economics, foreign policy, and governance. The focus is on federal campaign finance law. The site offers:
- publications for sale
- analysis of and links to court decisions
- analysis and commentary on relevant issues
The Committee for Economic Development (CED): Money in Politics Project is a public policy research, analysis, and tracking project of the CED which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, business-led public policy organization that delivers well-researched analysis and reasoned solutions to our nation’s most critical issues.
- public policy position and analysis
- polling results
- news and blog posts on topics in campaign finance affecting all levels of the U.S. political system
The Campaign Disclosure Project is designed to bring greater transparency and accountability to the role of money in state and federal campaigns. The project is currently working toward three goals: (1) Classify and evaluate the campaign disclosure laws of the 50 states. (2) Design and promote a set of uniform standards and model laws for state reporting and disclosure practices, based upon the findings of the evaluation above. (3) Encourage the adoption of these standards by grading the states according to their disclosure laws and practices and by promoting the findings through publications, conferences and web sites. The site focuses exclusively on state law. The site offers:
- links to state disclosure agencies
- a collection of news stories about campaign disclosure
- links to related studies and resources
The Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) is a specialized think tank committed to the idea that durable policy should be based on objective, fact-based research. Its work therefore is geared both toward peer review and to serving the needs of the policy making community. CFI's work includes analyses of campaign contribution sources in state and federal elections, with an emphasis on the role of small donors. The website includes a tool for each of the states as well as a searchable database of campaign finance research.
The Campaign Legal Center is a non-profit organization created to act as the "people's voice" in administrative hearings and proceedings on campaign finance and media laws. The site focuses on federal law. The site offers:
- an enormous volume of information about BCRA, the new federal campaign finance law, including the regulations associated with the law and many documents associated with the court challenge
- links to other campaign finance reform court cases
- analysis of congressional legislation on campaign finance reform
- weekly reports on federal campaign finance reform
- links to news articles
- links to a set of key reference documents
The Cato Institute is a non-profit public policy research foundation that seeks to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets and peace. The institute opposes attempts to limit campaign spending. The site focuses on federal campaign finance law, with some information on state law. The site offers:
- research, analysis, and commentary on a wide array of campaign finance issues
The Center for Competitive Politics is non-profit educational foundation with a mission to promote and defend citizens' First Amendment political rights of speech, assembly, and petition. They oppose efforts to limit campaign contributions, taxpayer funded political campaigns, the "fairness doctrine" in talk radio and other limits on citizens' ability to support the candidates and causes of their choice. The site offers:
- a large collection of research on a variety of campaign finance topics and from an array of sources
- a compilation of the Center's briefs and testimony related to court cases
- a blog
- a bookstore
The Center for Governmental Studies is a non-profit, non-partisan public charity which studies and helps implement innovative approaches to improving social problems and the processes of self-government. The site offers:
- a collection of recent publications
- links to other organizations
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The site focuses on federal campaigns. The site offers:
- analysis of how current news issues relate to campaign finance (for example, the Enron scandal)
- a summary of contribution limits under the new federal law
- detailed state-by-state summaries of campaign fundraising by PACs, federal candidates and political parties in 2000 and 2002
- summaries and profiles of campaign fundraising data for individual members of Congress, members of particular Congressional committees, Congressional races, and national political party committees
- summaries and profiles of campaign fundraising data for the president and administration
Common Cause is a non-profit, non-partisan citizens' lobbying organization promoting open, honest and accountable government. The site focuses on both state and federal campaign finance law. The site offers:
- analysis of court rulings
- a database of soft money contributions to the national political parties
- summaries of various provisions of state campaign finance laws, including disclosure, contribution limits and public financing
- links to U.S. Supreme Court rulings
- links to other advocacy organizations
- links to all state chapters, whose sites often include detailed information about campaign finance reform in their state
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces the laws governing the financing of federal elections. Its duties are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. The site includes information mainly on federal campaign finance law, with mostly outdated information on state law. The site offers:
- campaign finance reports and data from federal campaigns
- information and forms for filing campaign disclosure reports
- a collection of legal documents, including the text of all federal laws governing the financing of campaigns,
- regulations, advisory opinions, and interpretations
- a collection of publications, including various guides to the law, court case abstracts, a monthly newsletter, and brochures
- a collection of charts offering detailed summaries of state campaign finance laws (the charts were published in 2000 and represent information from 1999)
Issue One is a bipartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the influence of money in politics and putting everyday Americans back in control of our democracy. Generating a bigger, bolder movement for reform by recruiting new constituencies to the fight and elevating money in politics as the core civic issue of our time.
- organization and administration of the Reformers Caucus; a group of members of Congress and Governors from both sides of the isle, committed to regaining the integrity of the U.S. democratic process from the influence of excessive money in our political system.
- extensive news blogs covering many aspects of campaign finance in all levels of American politics.
- blueprints for Democracy an reference publication illustrating how reforms have been implemented across the country and best practices for legislators and advocates.
The Justice at Stake Campaign is a nationwide, nonpartisan partnership of more than thirty judicial, legal and citizen organizations. They seek to educate the public about the growing impact of money and politics on fair and impartial courts. The site focuses on the financing of state judicial campaigns. The site includes:
- information on state supreme court elections
- a study of the role of money in judicial politics (based on the 2000 state supreme court elections)
- a round-up of judicial campaign finance reform efforts in the states
- polls of state judges and voters on the issue of judicial elections
- state-by-state information on the selection method and terms of state judges (incomplete as of May 2003)
The National Institute on Money in State Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit program dedicated to accurate, comprehensive and unbiased documentation and research on campaign finance at the state level. The site includes only state-level campaign finance data. The site offers:
- a detailed database of campaign finance contribution data from many (but not all) states
- summaries and analysis of trends in campaign contributions and role of contributions in influencing key issues in the news
- state-by-state analysis of major campaign donors and recipients (all pre-2000)
- summaries of state campaign finance laws (generally based on 1998 or previous law)
The National Voting Rights Institute: Through litigation and public education, the Institute aims to redefine the issue of private money in public elections as the nation's newest voting rights barrier, and to vindicate the constitutional right of all citizens, regardless of their economic status, to participate in the electoral process on an equal and meaningful basis. The site focuses on both state and federal campaign finance reform. The site includes:
- links to and analysis of the various state and federal campaign finance court cases the institute has been involved in
- links to other advocacy organizations, academic and research institutions, and government agencies
- a bibliography of suggested readings
Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to sweeping reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of special interest money in America's elections and the influence of big contributors in American politics. They are the primary national advocacy group for so-called "Clean Elections" public campaign financing. The site focuses on state campaign finance reform. The site offers:
- profiles of the four states with "Clean Elections" laws
- a study of the relationship between campaign contributions and race
- a model law for "Clean Elections" public financing
- state news and contacts
Source
New York City Campaign Finance Board: The NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB), a nonpartisan, independent city agency, administers the Campaign Finance Program, educating voters about candidates and contributions. The CFB database lets you to search by election cycle, candidate, contributor name, amount of contribution, etc.
OpenSecrets.org: [^7] Provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) – a nonpartisan and independent research group, OpenSecrets.org is a clearinghouse of data, including detailed contribution profiles, fund-raising breakdowns for federal party committees, and personal finances of members of Congress, the president and other officials. See the Politicians & Elections menu to search politicians by specific Congress, going back 10 year

Roadmap

Phase	1 - Current	2 - Quick Wins	3 - Long-term
Goal	house keeping: url redirect, basic SEO, github, wiki	donor page, humanize error messages, candidate page	curate big stories, product strategy to support viral, or social sharing
Metrics	increase site traffic by pointing all URLs to new site	fix usability flaws, improve site design, better google analytics tracking (funnel)	increase voter turnout, journalist use (unexpected stories), sponsorship

Revenue Streams

API fee for use
Grants
- MacArthur Grants to Support Campaign Finance Research, Information Sharing, and Efforts to Improve Elections Process
  - A grant of $1.8 million will fund the Aspen Institute’s Congressional Program, which invites serving members of Congress from both parties to participate in open discussions on critical policy topics with experts from leading think tanks and universities.
  - A $500,000 grant will support the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program in conducting research, policy analysis, legal advocacy, and public education on campaign finance reform and voting.
  - The Campaign Legal Center will receive $500,000 to provide legal expertise regarding financing disclosure laws, campaign finance regulations, and related public education and media outreach.
  - An award of $400,000 will allow the Center for Responsive Politics to maintain its national campaign finance databases, publish original research, develop new online tools, and provide training on campaign finance information to journalists and the general public.
  - The Committee for Economic Development, a group of 200 senior corporate executives and university leaders, will use its $300,000 grant to conduct research and hold roundtables for its members on campaign giving, corporate disclosure, and other matters related to business and political campaigns.
  - The Democracy 21 Education Fund will use its $200,000 grant to provide legal expertise relating to campaign finance laws, oversight regulatory bodies, and public policy, education, and communications efforts.
  - Justice at Stake will receive $400,000 for its efforts across the United States to preserve and strengthen the fairness, impartiality, and transparency of the court system.
  - Aided by its $400,000 grant, the National Institute on Money in State Politics will collect, analyze, and publish campaign finance data reported by 16,000 state-level candidates, recommend best practices for full state disclosure, and train journalists to investigate trails of influence.
  - The Verified Voting Foundation will receive $300,000 in support of its nationwide effort to analyze and improve the security of election practices and voting systems currently in use ahead of the 2012 elections.

Window

Oregon election cycle

Go-to-market

Demo night
Website
Local news write-ups

Notes

Frishberg, Leo; Lambdin, Charles (2015-09-21). Presumptive Design: Design Provocations for Innovation. Morgan Kaufmann, p 276
Levy, Jaime (2015-05-20). UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products that People Want (p. 41). O'Reilly Media. Kindle Edition.
Rubin, Jeffrey; Chisnell, Dana (2008-08-04). Handbook of Usability Testing: Howto Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests (Kindle Location 968). Wiley. Kindle Edition.
Frishberg, Leo; Lambdin, Charles (2015-09-21). Presumptive Design: Design Provocations for Innovation. Morgan Kaufmann, p 112
Public Integrity
Oregon.gov
Columbia Univ
Nigel Jaquiss, Wikipedia
Jason Bernert, LinkedIn Profile
political-reporter-jeff-mapes-joins-opb-newsroom/)
Yahoo Developer Network - Autocomplete
How to Search on Google
Accessing Product Opportunities

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