The aim of this project is to make it easier for people to access campaign finance data which otherwise is only obtained by going directly to the City Clerk's office or by obtaining a PDF version of campaign finance contributions via a source like the Portland Press Herald. Our goal is to provide data in an accessible format so that voters and interested parties can freely and easily access it.
Candidates running for office in Portland, Maine are required to file campaign finance reports with the city 42 days before the election, 11 days before the election, and 42 days after the election. Reports are often filed on paper and the city does not post them to their website until after the election. Further information on reporting requirements can be found in the 2019 Municipal Candidate Guidebook
OpenMaine is a Code for America Brigade. We are a volunteer group that seeks to improve civic services and improve access to civic information in Maine. Our members are developers, designers, data scientists, storytellers, citizen journalists, and civically engaged residents of all abilities. We value accessible open access to public information.
In 2019, OpenMaine started our work on campaign finance data by focusing on the Portland elections. In the future, we hope to expand this work to other local elections in Maine.
If you are interested in campaign finance data for Federal elections, please visit the state profile for Maine on the Center for Responsive Politics website
If you are interested in campaign finance data for state-level elections, please visit FollowTheMoney.org