Nevada gets D in study of campaign rules

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003 | 10:20 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada received a grade of D in its ability to provide timely information to voters about the contributions and expenditures of political candidates, a study by a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization says.

"Nevada's campaign finance disclosure program barely received a passing grade in the study," the California Voter Foundation said in its report released Wednesday. "The state has significant room to improve, particularly in its law and electronic filing program."

The foundation, which said the study was funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, examined all 50 states in various categories.

Only two states -- Washington and Illinois -- received grades higher than C+. Washington received an A- while Illinois received a B.

Rachel Zenner, program director for the foundation, said it set a high bar for the states in the study. Thirteen states received an F.

Nevada received an F for its campaign disclosure law and for its electronic filing program in the study.

Nevada ranked 27th overall in releasing campaign finance information to the public.

Secretary of State Dean Heller said Wednesday he recommended the state's campaign laws be tightened and that candidates be required to file their contribution and expense reports electronically, but those bills died in the Legislature.

A proposal to require all contributions of $1,000 or more to be reported electronically within 24 hours also died in the Legislature.

Candidates may file their campaign reports electronically on a voluntary basis.

Nevada law requires candidates who raise more than $10,000 to file an annual statement in nonelection years, and all candidates must file one report before the primary and one report before the general election. There is also a report required after the general election.

The foundation said: "Detailed information about contributors who give more than $100 must be reported, but occupations and employers are not required."

It said last-minute contributions do not have to be disclosed before the election. The reports are each due about one week before the election.

Although the state adequately funds its electronic filing program and provides technical training and a standard filing format for the candidates, Nevada received an F in this category because the program is voluntary, the study said.

Heller also said the Legislature declined to give his office the authority to audit the reports to determine their accuracy.

The secretary of state's office posts campaign finance reports for all statewide candidates and some legislative candidates on its website within 24 hours of their filing.

"Unfortunately, the database only contains a handful of records and has limited search options. Also it is not possible to sort the data online or to download it for sorting offline," the study said.

The site could be improved, according to the study, by adding lists of the total amounts raised and spent by state candidates and the time frame of reporting periods in the index of a candidate's report.

The California Voter Foundation was founded 10 years ago to "pioneer new technologies to improve democracy," it says, and is financed by grants from charitable foundations.

The Center for Governmental Studies and the UCLA School of Law also participated in the study.