Portland Maine Campaign Finance Data

2019 Mayoral Election (Tuesday, November 5, 2019)

An OpenMaine Project

Portland Maine Campaign Finance Data

2019 Mayoral Election (Tuesday, November 5, 2019)

An OpenMaine Project

Some information on the process in Portland

Information is hard to find, and the following is incomplete...

1. November 2019 Municipal Election
2. Information for Candidates
3. Maine 2019 Municipal Candidate Guidebook for Towns & Cities With a Population Over 15,000

The Portland City Clerk's office holds the forms in a manilla folder; they are available to voters to come in and look at from the day after the filings are due (Room 203 in City Hall).

In working on this project, we've encountered the following frustrations:

1. Candidates file their reports on paper only.
2. Candidates are using different versions of the paper forms, resulting in an inconsistency in recorded/submitted information.
3. Voters can come ask for the folders to see the data prior to the election. They can also take cellphone pictures of these documents.
4. The Portland Press Herald has been helpful in publishing PDFs of these documents in a timely manner.
5. The City of Portland does not make PDFs of these documents available until after the election.

Some Recommendations

For the City of Portland:

• Make PDF versions of the filings available online immediately.
• Require candidates to provide electronic copies of their campaign finance reports
• Post searchable campaign finance data at least 10 days before the election
• Require that candidates use the current set of forms.

For Candidates:

• Submit electronic copies of your campaign finance reports
• Include the data on your campaign website