Package: dc-campaign-finance-scraper
# dc-campaign-finance-scraper## Install```bash$ pip install dc-campaign-finance-scraperDownloading/unpacking dc-campaign-finance-scraper...```## CLI UsageThe easiest way to get data out from the scraper is to use the CLI. Once youit installed, you should be able to run the `dc-campaign-finance-scraper`command```bash$ dc-campaign-finance-scraper --helpUsage: dc-campaign-finance-scraper [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...Options:--log / --no-log                Print log of all HTTP requests  [default:False]--persistant-cache / --in-memory-cacheCache all responses to a file.  [default:True]--help                          Show this message and exit.Commands:cache_file      Prints the path of the persistant cache.clear_cache     Clear persistant cachecommittees_dup  Checks to see if any committees are duplicated in multipleraceoffices         Offices that are contestedrecords         List of recordsyears           Available Election Years```To get a list of records of all contributions or expenditures, use the `records`subcommand.```bash$ Usage: dc-campaign-finance-scraper records [OPTIONS]A list all transactions for all campaigns, between FROM-DATE and TO-DATE.Also, if specified, only those for the elction in ELECTION-YEAR andrunning for the office OFFICE.Either the expenses of the campaign or the contributions of the campaign,based on REPORT-TYPE.Options:--office [Mayor|Council Chairman|Council At-Large|Council Ward 1|Council Ward 2|Council Ward 3|Council Ward 4|Council Ward 5|Council Ward 6|Council Ward 7|Council Ward 8|US Representative|Democratic National Committeeman|Democratic National Committeewoman|Alternate Democratic National Committeeman|Alternate Democratic National Committeewoman|At-Large DC Democratic State Committee|Ward 1 DC Democratic State Committee |Ward 2 DC Democratic State Committee|Ward 3 DC Democratic State Committee|Ward 4 DC Democratic State Committee|Ward 5 DC Democratic State Committee|Ward 6 DC Democratic State Committee|Ward 7 DC Democratic State Committee|Ward 8 DC Democratic State Committee|Democratic Delegates|Democratic Delegates Alternates|Republican Delegates|Republican Delegates Alternates|Republican National Committeeman|Republican National Committeewoman|At-Large DC Republican Committee Official|Ward 1 of the DC Republican Committee|Ward 2 of the DC Republican Committee|Ward 3 of the DC Republican Committee|Ward 4 of the DC Republican Committee|Ward 5 of the DC Republican Committee|Ward 6 of the DC Republican Committee|Ward 7 of the DC Republican Committee|Ward 8 of the DC Republican Committee|Other Political Party|Non Supporting|Supporting|US Senator|School Board Ward 1|School Board Ward 2|School Board Ward 3|School Board Ward 4|School Board Ward 5|School Board Ward 6|School Board Ward 7|School Board Ward 8|School Board At-Large|Attorney General]--election-year INTEGER RANGE--report-type [exp|con]         exp -> expenses, con -> contributions[default: con]--from-date TEXT                First date of records.  [default:01/01/1999]--to-date TEXT                  Last date of records. Future dates areallowed.  [default: 01/01/9999]--format [json|xls|yaml|csv|tsv|html|xlsx|ods]Format of out output.--help                          Show this message and exit.```Although the `records` command can be run without any arguments, thiswill return every record in the system, and will take a long time.If you don't specify a `format` it will default to a text based tablelike output.However, for something more interesting, let's try finding all the mayoraldonation in 2014, for the election in 2014.```bash$ dc-campaign-finance-scraper records --office Mayor --election-year 2014 --from-date 01/01/2014 --to-date 01/01/2015Committee Name                            |Candidate Name |Contributor                                  |Address                                 |city                        |state|Zip  |Contributor Type       |Contribution Type|Employer Name                                     |Employer Address                                                 |Amount     |Date of Receipt|Office|Election Year------------------------------------------|---------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------|-----|-----|-----------------------|-----------------|--------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|---------------|------|-------------Bruce Majors, Libertarian for Mayor       |Bruce Majors   |Rufer, Chris                                 |724 Main                                |Woodland                    |CA   |95695|Individual             |Check            |Retired                                           | CA                                                              |$2,000.00  |3/3/2014       |Mayor |2014Bruce Majors, Libertarian for Mayor       |Bruce Majors   |Majors, Mary                                 |11 Redbud                               |Shelbyville                 |TN   |37160|Individual             |Check            |Retired                                           | TN                                                              |$300.00    |2/27/2014      |Mayor |2014Bruce Majors, Libertarian for Mayor       |Bruce Majors   |Majors, Bruce                                |1200 23rd Street, NW. #711              |Washington                  |DC   |20037|Candidate              |Check            |                                                  |                                                                 |$1,500.00  |3/1/2014       |Mayor |2014Bruce Majors, Libertarian for Mayor       |Bruce Majors   |Snead, Edward                                |111 redbud                              |Georgetown                  |TX   |67676|Individual             |Check            |                                                  |                                                                 |$1,000.00  |4/8/2014       |Mayor |2014Bruce Majors, Libertarian for Mayor       |Bruce Majors   |Delhomme, Laura                              |1515 North Couthouse                    |Arlington                   |VA   |22203|Individual             |Check            |CKI                                               | 1515 North Couthouse, VA 22201                                  |$150.00    |6/7/2014       |Mayor |2014Bruce Majors, Libertarian for Mayor       |Bruce Majors   |Palmer, Tom                                  |1735                                    |17th Street NW              |DC   |20009|Individual             |CASH             |Atlas Foundation                                  | 1201 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20005                          |$25.00     |6/8/2014       |Mayor |2014Bruce Majors, Libertarian for Mayor       |Bruce Majors   |Majors, Bruce                                |1200 23rd Street, NW. #711              |Washington                  |DC   |20037|Candidate              |Check            |                                                  |                                                                 |$500.00    |6/1/2014       |Mayor |2014Carlos Allen For Mayor                    |Carlos Allen   |Sewell, Anthony                              |507 Louise Avenue                       |Linthicum Heights           |MD   |21090|Individual             |Credit Card      |                                                  |                                                                 |$100.00    |2/5/2014       |Mayor |2014Carlos Allen For Mayor                    |Carlos Allen   |Brooks, Karen                                |9709 Manteo Ct                          |Ft Washington               |MD   |20744|Individual             |Credit Card      |                                                  |                                                                 |$15.00     |2/25/2014      |Mayor |2014Carlos Allen For Mayor                    |Carlos Allen   |Alsbrook, Darrell                            |2470                                    |LakeMeadow Ln               |GA   |30017|Individual             |Credit Card      |                                                  |                                                                 |$20.00     |3/4/2014       |Mayor |2014...```*Notice* Behind the scenes, all the records between the `from-date`and `to-date` are requested from the server, and only filtered locally.Also, because office and election year are not included in the sourcerecord set, it is neccesary to try to guess them from the committeename and date of donation. What this ends up meaning is thata whole lot of HTTP requests must happen if you request the wholedate range, which will in turn, take a while.Also, to get all the possible years, in which data office data is available, use`years````bash$ dc-campaign-finance-scraper years20102011201220132014⏎```And then to see all the possible offices, use `offices````bashdc-campaign-finance-scraper offices --helpUsage: dc-campaign-finance-scraper offices [OPTIONS]A list of all the offices that are contested, in a certain ELECTION-YEAR.If no ELECTION-YEAR provided, returns all the offices.Returns each office on a new line.Options:--election-year INTEGER RANGE--help                         Show this message and exit.```## API UsageFeel free to access the pythonn api. Take a look at the functions in[dc_campaign_finance-scraper/scraper.py](dc_campaign_finance_scraper/scraper.py).If you want to use the permenant, file based cache, call`dc_campaign_finance_scraper.cache.use_persistant_cache()` before calling anyscraper functions. To clear the cache use`dc_campaign_finance_scraper.cache.clear_persistant_cache()`## Release instructions1. `pip install -e .` to make sure it works2. Bump version in `./setup.py`3. Commit and create tag for version prefixed with "v"4. `pip install wheel`5. `python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel upload`## Developing locally with Docker```bashfig build pythonfig run fig run python dc-campaign-finance-scraper --helpfig run fig run python test```## How did I do it?### Manual Process1. Go to[www.ocf.dc.gov/serv/download.asp](http://www.ocf.dc.gov/serv/download.asp)![Screenshot of unfilled in serv/download.asp](http://f.cl.ly/items/3J2k2O05223Y1K2T0C43/District%20of%20Columbia%20%20Office%20of%20Campaign%20Finance%20%20Contribution%20%20%20Expenditure%20Search.png)2. Fill in `From Date`, `To Date`, and `Payment Type`.![Screenshot of filled in serv/download.asp](http://f.cl.ly/items/0T3N0O1I1W0A1t2W1t3N/District%20of%20Columbia%20%20Office%20of%20Campaign%20Finance%20%20Contribution%20%20%20Expenditure%20Search%20filled%20in.png)3. Click `Submit` and it sends a `POST` to[www.ocf.dc.gov/serv/download.asp](http://www.ocf.dc.gov/serv/download.asp)and displays the entered form.![Screenshot of submitted form](http://f.cl.ly/items/0Z3k1P2W0l1G2P080o2K/District%20of%20Columbia%20%20Office%20of%20Campaign%20Finance%20%20Contribution%20%20%20Expenditure%20Search%20submitted.png)4. Click `Click here to download the CSV File` and it sends a `POST` to[www.ocf.dc.gov/serv/download_conexp.asp](http://www.ocf.dc.gov/serv/download_conexp.asp)5. Returns `POST` with CSV text.### Automation#### SeleniumAt first I tried using[Selenium with Python](http://selenium-python.readthedocs.org) to fill inthe forms and click the buttons. This will actually run a real(ish) browserand execute all the the JS and simulate user input. This worked, butit couldn't really handle the returned CSV text from step 5. In a browserthis opens in a new window and downloads to your computer, but the[PhantomJS driver for Selenium and Python](http://www.realpython.com/blog/python/headless-selenium-testing-with-python-and-phantomjs/)wasn't really working for that new window. I might have been able to getit to work eventually, but it prompted me to search for a different approach.#### RequestsI then started experimenting with[Requests for Python](http://docs.python-requests.org/en/latest) to justcall the to just make the actual HTTP calls, instead of pretending to be ahuman and filling in the form. This was 1) faster 2) less verbose 3) easierto understand.##### Chrome Dev ToolsI fired up my Chrome Dev Tools and looked at what requestswere being made. So I tried to figure out in step 4, what request was actually being sent,so that I could replay it programatically. However, since that openedin a new window, the Dev Tools didn't save the request.![GIF of clicking on download button and it downloading in chrome](http://zippy.gfycat.com/PinkAccomplishedBuffalo.gif)It [isn't possible](http://stackoverflow.com/a/13747562) with chrometo open a new window with Dev Tools already open.##### Chrome Net InternalsI then tried [chrome://net-internals/#events](chrome://net-internals/#events)to see the actual HTTP request being processed. I could see it was sendinga `POST` to`/serv/download_conexp.asp`and the returned CSV. However it didn't show the `POST` data or thecookies.![chrome net internals events showing POST](http://f.cl.ly/items/050P46040W3o2t30431M/Screen%20Shot%202014-06-15%20at%2012.54.33%20PM.png)##### CharlesFor that I found [Charles](http://www.charlesproxy.com/)(`brew cask install charles`) which provides a HTTP proxy to run your webtraffic through and then you can inspect every request.#### CookieI checked the `POST` headers for the request and tried making it myself.I got a response of```html<script language="javascript">alert("Your Session is expired. Please try again");opener.location.href="/serv/download.asp";window.close();</script>```I found that it was setting a cookie when I requested`/serv/download.asp`. I first tried it with a cookie I got  from the browserand IT WORKED! I got back the CSV.So I began using[Requests Sessions](http://docs.python-requests.org/en/latest/user/advanced/#session-objects)to first `GET` at `/serv/download.asp` to get a session cookie and then`POST` to `/serv/download_conexp.asp` with that cookie. That didn't work,I got the `Your Session is expired. Please try again` response.So then I tried doing step 3, sending a `POST` to `/serv/download.asp` and thenthe identical post to `/serve/download_conexp.asp`, thinking maybe the serverchecked to see if I submitted the form before letting me download. It worked!However the next day when I tried again I go the`Your Session is expired. Please try again`. Very weird. I tried getting acookie from the my chrome session and using that and it forked. So somethingabout how I get my session on chrome is different from how I get my sessionon Requests. I needed to figure out what the difference was.Then I tried it again and it worked. So who knows. Maybe their site is weird.