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Ohio law clearly requires employer identification of large contributions. Employer identifications are valuable because they enable the public to learn about the economic interests behind financial contributions. With such information, voters have more indications about who supports a candidate and how a candidate may be persuaded to vote.
To improve campaign finance disclosure in Ohio, we recommend the following:
Ohio General Assembly
- The legislature should adopt House Bill 119, the Voters Right-to-Know Bill sponsored by Representative Ron Amstutz, to create an electronic filing system in Ohio. Electronic filing would reduce the data entry needs associated with computerizing and making campaign data available to voters. Electronic filing minimizes data entry errors, because the data is entered by the candidates themselves and then electronically transferred to the Secretary of State's office.
Candidates
- Candidates who did not disclose 90 percent or more of the employers of large contributors should make public disclosure a greater priority for staff. All statewide government leaders and candidates should be setting an example of excellent disclosure.
Ohio Secretary of State
- The Ohio Secretary of State's office must continue to strive to set high standards for data entry. Failure to data enter information submitted by candidates damages the public perception about candidate's record of public disclosure.
- The Ohio Secretary of State should ensure that campaign finance reporting forms solicit employer identification information for all types of contributions. It is difficult to provide legally required information if no space is provided or if it must be crammed into spaces designed to contain other information. It is unacceptable for the Secretary of State to be using forms that don't conform to the law.
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