Soon the FEC will start producing the transaction level FTP files in a new format. The FTP files that we will produce in the new format are:
INDIVxx (Contributions by Individual)
PASS2xx (Contributions to Candidates (and other expenditures) from Committees)
OTHxx (Any Transaction from One Committee to Another)
We are requesting your input about these file formats. The sample files we have produced are fixed width and semicolon delimited. These sample files are attached to this e-mail. There are numerous differences in the file formats when compared to the current fixed width file formats. We've tried to make the new file formats as consistent as possible. PAS2 has an additional data column - Candidate ID.
Here are a few of the changes. The FEC Record number is now 19 digits instead of 7 digits. We include both employer and occupation as separate data fields. The transaction date is in a single data field. There are numerous changes highlighted in red in the downloadable file format spreadsheet. Please review the file formats carefully.
Should we exclude employer and occupation from OTH? Do you want these files in both formats? We are not ready to produce additional formats but that's coming. Does a semicolon delimiter work or would some other delimiter work better?
Once we start producing the files in the new format(s) we will no longer produce the files in the old format. The last update for the current format will be 02/26/2012. We will put the new files into production the week of February 27, 2012 and the files produced on March 4, 2012 will be in the new format.
This compressed file contains six (6) sample data files containing 10,001 records each and one (1) spreadsheet containing format descriptions for the data files.
As we reach the first regular financial filing day of 2011 for campaign committees - reports that cover from January 1 through March 31 - take a look at the new campaign finance maps we're presenting at www.fec.gov.[Read More]
As we prepare to receive the first financial reports of the 2012 election cycle we've put together a page with links to background information on the Presidential race.You will find listings of all the individuals who have filed statements of candidacy for President in 2012 along with historical tables showing activity through the first quarter of off years in previous campaigns and a list of the largest fundraising quarters from the past. When reports come in we will also have a link here to get summaries from each of the filings, just as we did in 2008.[Read More]
We sat down yesterday afternoon with a group of users of our FTP files to talk about changes we're planning as we move to a different database platform. First, thanks to everyone who participated - it was very helpful to us and hopefully will improve what we are able to provide going forward.[Read More]
We're getting ready to implement some internal changes that will effect the information we provide in files on our FTP server. Before we throw the switch we want to explain the biggest differences you'll see initially and invite you to let us know if these will cause real problems for you and any ideas you have to overcome those problems.[Read More]
We've started work on several projects for the 2012 election cycle. Take a look at this list and let us know if we've missed something important or if you have ideas about anything you see here. We plan to have several of these ready for the April quarterly filings this year while others (presidential campaign summaries, more itemized data files) may take a little longer.
We're happy to hear from you with ideas for any of these or different data projects you think we should be working on in this cycle.
Today we're releasing a new addition to the data catalog - financial summaries for campaigns and committees that give an overview of financial activity in each reporting period during the election cycle.[Read More]
We've begun posting detailed data from electioneering communications filings on the ftp server - ec_exp_2010.csv or ec_exp_2010.txt. (We have some background on this activity and the reporting system.) We'll be posting this file on the same schedule we're using for independent expenditures - a new version at the start of each business day and another one late in the afternoon (eastern time).[Read More]
A quick note on disclosure of information from paper filings of Independent Expenditures
We are implementing a process for creating data from filings we receive on paper. As we implement this process, you'll see some filings that were actually received some time ago moving through the disclosure process now. For example, some Independent Expenditure reports submitted by party Senatorial committees last month (which file on paper. . .) are now beginning to appear in data feeds here - http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/indexp/1
Don't be confused by the "filing date" for these DSCC disclosures - they were actually submitted on paper in August and early September, as you can see here - http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?C00042366
Update on the new "real time" disclosure of independent expenditures and electioneering communications.
We're still working on the full processes for creating data for all 24-hour and 48-hour filings for independent expenditures and electioneering communications, but while we continue to build the final process we wanted to start making data available as soon as possible.
[Read More]As we get ready to launch the new data files for independent expenditure and electioneering communication filings during the 2010 general election campaign, I thought it would be useful to talk a little about what we will be including in the files and some of the changes that may come during this campaign season.[Read More]
The reporting requirements for Electioneering Communications (the broadcast ads running within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election that make reference to federal candidates but don't "expressly advocate" their election or defeat) are a little different than most everything else we see, so we're struggling with the best way to present the data.[Read More]
For those of you who would like to get a jump on the release of detailed candidate disbursement data (scheduled for next Monday Tuesday the 11th) here is a link to the schema for the file. We're actually adding schemas for the other files in the catalog as well.
We've also updated the draft metadata page for disbursements with some changes that we've made in the last week or so.
Detailed candidate disbursement files should now be posted on May 11.[Read More]
We're working on the front end for detailed candidate disbursement files, and we'd like to get your feedback. Take a look at these screenshots and let us know what you think.[Read More]
