National Institute on Money in State Politics
Channel: Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian Webinars
Date: 23/06/2015

What could YOU do with $2 billion? That’s the amount contributed to candidates and committees for 2014 state races. And why would there be so much monetary interest in these races? Sometimes legislators vote in obvious ways—and sometimes constituents wonder what may have prompted a certain vote. Ditto for governors and, now more than ever, our elected judiciary. This webinar will help you learn how to research a state candidate’s donor base, the top-giving industries, and possible connections between contributors, proposed legislation, and lobbyists.

Presenter Edwin Bender, executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics, has been connecting the dots between campaign finance and public policy for more than a decade. He promotes the free use of the Institute’s comprehensive, highly credentialed political donor information by investigative journalists, scholars examining state elections and public-policy processes, and attorneys involved in campaign-finance litigation—and is now focused on empowering librarians across the country.