FEC Introduces 2010 Maps on Web Site

FEC Introduces 2010 Maps on Web Site

WASHINGTON – The Federal Election Commission has introduced its House and Senate campaign finance maps for the 2010 elections on its web site, providing users with a vital tool for tracking disclosure of campaign contributions and spending. 

The 2010 Senate and House maps, found on the Commission’s web site (www.fec.gov), provide an overview of campaign activity for 2010 congressional candidates. Similar to the 2008 congressional and presidential maps, the updated versions summarize campaign data by showing receipt, disbursement, debt and cash on hand totals by candidate, as well as detailed contributor and disbursement information. The maps allow users to search for a candidate by clicking on a state or district, to compare financial activity of opponents and to export campaign data for further analysis. The maps are updated within 24 hours of the agency’s receipt of each electronically filed report.

The new map includes several improvements over earlier versions. Users can now view data from either the 2010 or 2008 election cycles, and the Commission will be adding data from additional prior cycles in the coming months.  Additional new features will be added within the next month that will allow users to export selective data in several common formats such as XML, JSON, and CSV, and to utilize a new zoom tool, making it easier to view and select smaller regions of the map.

The maps are part of an ongoing effort to improve the agency’s web site, one of the main initiatives Chairman Steven Walther set before the Commission this year.

“The Commission’s website is critical to the FEC''''s mission, and we strive to make it more user-friendly, more educational, more analytical, more accessible and more interesting. The House and Senate maps are fine examples of our efforts in this area, and I would like to thank all the staff who have come together from many departments and worked diligently on these projects,” Walther said.

The web site is the Commission’s primary vehicle for disseminating campaign finance information and educational materials to political committees, news media and the public.  In 2008, the Commission received more than 5.2 million visits to its web site, or approximately 14,200 per day. During the 24-month 2008 election cycle, the Commission received, and disclosed on its web site, approximately 140,000 financial disclosure reports from nearly 8,000 political committees.  These reports contained the equivalent of 10 million pages of financial data, disclosing approximately $8.3 billion in political contributions and spending related to federal elections. 

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign finance laws. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the Presidency and the Vice Presidency. Established in 1975, the FEC is composed of six Commissioners who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.