The agency's web site provides excellent campaign finance data, as well as a note informing users that the disclosure data available is only for candidates who voluntarily file electronically. Virginia has been looking at Florida's online database as an example to follow. The site offers various search capabilities, as well as the ability to browse or download the data. Virginia is an excellent example of how state agencies working in collaboration with an outside group can quickly make progress into the digital sunlight. Former director Melissa Warheit has stated these funds were insufficient, and the agency is working to get an additional appropriation.
Free software is available for filers and can be downloaded from the agency's web site.
A visit to the web site in October turned up reports that had been disclosed just two days prior. However, the report images are sometimes difficult to read, and the format prevents the user from searching the data. For more experienced users, the agency also offers the ability to download entire databases from past election cycles that can be searched and sorted offline. 14 West Virginia is behind the rest of the country on digital disclosure, but hopefully recent developments will turn things around in the near future. The agency is setting up a voluntary electronic filing program which it plans to make available in 2000.