Ballotpedia:How we research for proof of official candidacy
A political candidate is a person who is running for elected office. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
This page explains how Ballotpedia learns whether a federal or state candidate has registered with their respective campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline. In addition to this proactive research approach, Ballotpedia encourages candidates to send in their campaign finance registration information as part of their response to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Federal candidates
For candidates running for federal office, Ballotpedia researches the online database of registered candidates published by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Click here to access the FEC's search tool.
Using the options in the left sidebar of the FEC website, researchers can filter the search results by name, election year, office sought, political party, state or territory, district, candidate status, date first filed, and fundraising amount. When looking up an FEC ID for a federal candidate, Ballotpedia filters using election year, office sought, state, and name.
Federal candidates are not required to register with the FEC prior to reaching $5,000 in either contributions or expenditures. If a candidate has not personally filed but does have an active committee supporting their candidacy registered with the FEC, Ballotpedia will accept the committee's FEC ID number as a valid replacement for the person's proof of candidacy.
Note: In some instances candidates may file with the FEC, but the information provided by the candidate is deemed to be erroneous. For instance, a candidate may file for a senate race in a year during which no senate race—regular or special—is being held. Ballotpedia will not process these candidates as official until the paperwork has been corrected and updated on the FEC website.
State candidates
For candidates running for state office, Ballotpedia researches the online database of registered candidates published by the state's campaign finance agency. Every state maintains a database of this kind, although the format and amount of information available varies significantly by state.
The table below lists out all 50 states. The first column is the state, the second column is a link to the state's campaign finance database, the third column is the proof of candidacy that Ballotpedia seeks for candidates in that state, and the fourth column is the methodology that Ballotpedia follows when researching in that database.
Proof of candidacy can take three different forms:
- ID number: These state campaign finance agencies consistently publish an ID number for each candidate who registers with them, similar to the FEC ID number for federal candidates. Ballotpedia saves this ID number in our internal records for the candidate as proof of candidacy.
- Unique URL: These state campaign finance agencies do not consistently publish ID numbers, but they do consistently publish a page on their website with a unique URL that is specific to the candidate. Ballotpedia saves this unique URL in our internal records for the candidate as proof of candidacy.
- Visual confirmation: These state campaign finance agencies do not consistently publish ID numbers or unique URLs for each candidate who registers with them. However, the agencies do still host an online database of registered candidates. Ballotpedia reviews the agency's database and notes in our internal records for the candidate that he or she was registered as proof of candidacy.
| How Ballotpedia researches candidates for state office | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Search link | Proof of candidacy | Research methodology |
| Alabama | Link | ID number | - Search the candidate's last name. - In the search results, look for the Committee ID on the right side of the table. |
| Alaska | Link | Unique URL | - Select the election year for "Report Year" and select the appropriate election in the bottom-right search box. - With those boxes set, search the candidate's last name in the bottom-right box to the left of the election box. |
| Arizona | Link | ID number | - Search the candidate's last name. - Click on the candidate's name. Look for the Filer ID # in the upper-left corner. |
| Arkansas | Link | ID number | - In the bottom-right corner, select the relevant office and click "All Candidate Data." - Click on the candidate's name. Look for the Candidate ID near the top. |
| California | Link | ID number | - Click on the appropriate letter for the candidate's last name. - Click on the candidate's name. On the candidate's page, scroll down for a box with their current candidacy. The ID number should be in the title row of the box. |
| Colorado | Link | ID number | - Search the candidate's last name and select the appropriate election year before clicking the "Search" button. You can also search by jurisdiction, office, and district instead if desired. - On the candidate's page, they may have both a subsection for them as a candidate and another for their candidate committee. |
| Connecticut | Link | Unique URL | - Select the appropriate "Election Year" and enter the candidate's last name. - Click on the committee name on the left side of the search results. This should open a new tab with a PDF. |
| Delaware | Link | ID number | - Select the appropriate "Election Type" and set "Committee Type" as Candidate Committee. - Click on the "Reporting Year" column of the search results until it's listing in reverse-chronological order. |
| Florida | Link | Unique URL | - Select "View List" for the appropriate election year. - Search the list for candidates. Click the candidate's name to access filing URL. |
| Georgia | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name. - In the search results, click "Transaction Search" next to the appropriate candidate's name. |
| Hawaii | Link | Unique URL | - Click "View Reports" on top left-hand side of page to access candidate reports. - Enter the candidate's name in the 'Candidate Search' box. |
| Idaho | Link | Unique URL | - Click "View Suggested Candidate Searches" in the top left corner of the page. - The dropdown will feature multiple Idaho statewide and county races. Select the race you are searching to find candidates. |
| Illinois | Link | ID number | - Input the appropriate "Election Year" and enter the candidate's last name. - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| Indiana | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name. - Under "Committee Information" near the top, look for "File Number." |
| Iowa | Link | ID number | - Click on 'State Reports' to access candidate information. - Search for the candidate by name in the search box on the top right-hand side of the page, or scroll down the page to access the search results. |
| Kansas | Link | Visual confirmation | - Choose the election you are searching for in the dropdown. - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| Kentucky | Link | Unique URL | - Click the election date you are searching for in the "Election Date" dropdown. Click 'Submit' at the bottom left-hand corner of the page. - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| Louisiana | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name. - In the search results, the ID number is in parentheses after the candidate's name. However, click on the candidate's name to confirm that it's the right person and to make it easier to copy/paste the ID number from the website. |
| Maine | Link | Unique URL | - Click on the appropriate "Election Year" checkbox column on the top left-hand side of the page. - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| Maryland | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name in the left-side box and select the appropriate election cycle from the dropdown in the middle box. - In the search results, one of the left-hand columns will be "CCF ID." Double-check that the year and office are a match before recording it. |
| Massachusetts | Link | ID number | - Select a filer on the list to the left. You can also search for candidates by name in the 'filter by name' box. - Search for the candidate's last name. |
| Michigan | Link | Unique URL | - Enter any portion of the Candidate or Committee name in the dropdown box midway down the page. Click 'Search.' - Click on the 'Committee' link to access the Unique URL that includes the candidate's filing number. |
| Minnesota | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name. - In the search results, the ID number is after the candidate's name. However, click on the candidate's name to confirm that it's the right person and to make it easier to copy/paste the ID number from the website. |
| Mississippi | Link | Visual confirmation | - Search for the candidate's last name. - In the search results, click on the "View Details" button on the left. |
| Missouri | Link | Unique URL | - (Step 1) Enter the election year you are searching for in the dropdown box midway down the page. - (Step 1) Missouri holds its primaries in August, so for statewide candidate searches, choose the August date in the "Election Date" dropbown box below the "Election Year" box. |
| Montana | Link | Visual confirmation | - Search for the candidate's last name. Candidates can also be searched by Election Year in the dropdown within the Public Access Search box. - Click on the checkbox next to their name and then click the "View Registration" button below the search results. |
| Nebraska | Link | ID Number | - Click on the "Candidate" link directly under "Campaign Finance". - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| Nevada | Link | Unique URL | - Search for the candidate's last name and select the appropriate year from the "Election Year" dropdown. - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| New Hampshire | Link | ID number | - Search for the relevant candidate. Make sure to set the correct election cycle filter. - If there are multiple rows in the research results, prioritize the row where "Registrant type" is "Candidate." The next-best option is "Candidate Committee" followed by "Political Committee." |
| New Jersey | Link | Unique URL | - Search for the candidate's last name and select the appropriate year from the "Election Year" dropdown. - Candidates can also be searched by election year and office by clicking the 'Office' and 'Year' dropdown boxes. |
| New Mexico | Link | Unique URL | - Search for the candidate's last name. - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| New York | Link | ID Number | -Candidate filings can be searched as recently as today or up to one year ago. -Click on the appropriate timeframe in the "Registered Within" dropdown box to access candidates. |
| North Carolina | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name in search box. - In the search results, the middle column will be "SBoE ID." However, click on the candidate's name on the left side to confirm that it's the right person. |
| North Dakota | Link | Unique URL | - Enter the year and then click on "Candidates" in the left sidebar. - In the box that pops up, search for the relevant candidate and click on their name. |
| Ohio | Link | Unique URL | - Search for the candidate's last name. - In the date range section, set the "From Date" box as January 1 of the year preceding the election year. For example, for a 2020 election, enter 01/01/2019. Set the "To Date" box to the present date. |
| Oklahoma | Link | Unique URL | - Search for the candidate's last name and choose the appropriate year in the "Election" dropdown. -Candidates can also be searched by election year by clicking the requested election on the "Election" dropdown box. |
| Oregon | Link | ID number | - Select the appropriate year in the "Year" dropdown and Candidate Committee (All) from the "Type of committee" dropdown. - Search for the candidate's last name. |
| Pennsylvania | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name and choose the appropriate year in the "Election Year" dropdown in the bottom-left. - Warning: you may also want to check the year before the election year in the dropdown, if nothing comes up. |
| Rhode Island | Link | ID number | - Search for the candidate's last name. - In the search results, click on the candidate's name on the left side. |
| South Carolina | Link | Visual confirmation | - Search for the candidate's last name and choose the appropriate year in the "Election Year" dropdown. - Click on their name to pull up a list of finance reports from the person. Check that the candidacy is a match for who you're looking up. |
| South Dakota | Link | Unique URL | - Click on "Search by Committee Name" and look through the dropdown menu that pops up for the candidate's name. - Select the candidate's name and then click the "Search" button. |
| Tennessee | Link | Unique URL | - Check Candidates in the "Find" checkbox. - To search candidates by election year, click the requested year in the Election Year dropbox. |
| Texas | Link | ID number | - Click on the "By Filer Name" button and search for the candidate's last name. Select "All Candidate Types" under Filer Type in the dropdown. - In the search results, the ID number is in front of the candidate's name. However, click on the ID number to confirm that it's the right person and to make it easier to copy/paste the ID number from the website. |
| Utah | Link | Unique URL | - Scroll down to the "All Entities List View" section and click on the dropdown for "Candidates & Office Holders." - Search for the relevant candidate and click on their name. |
| Vermont | Link | Visual confirmation | - Search for the relevant candidate or sort the table below the search section. - Click on their name to download a PDF. Check that the candidacy is a match for who you're looking up. |
| Virginia | Link | ID number | - Search for the relevant candidate in the "Search Committee" box. - In the search results, click on "View Reports" on the right side. |
| Washington | Link | Unique URL | - Search for the relevant candidate or office and click on the candidate's name. - To search candidates by election year or by office, click on the appropriate dropdown boxes on the left-hand side of the page. |
| West Virginia | Link | Unique URL | - Click "All Candidate Data" on the top right-hand side of the page. - Click on the desired election year on the left-hand side of the page to access candidate results in alphabetical order. |
| Wisconsin | Link | ID number | - Click "Continue" on the initial page. - In the search results, click on the "Election Date" column header twice to sort the results in reverse-chronological order. |
| Wyoming | Link | Visual confirmation | - Input the appropriate year into "Election Year Cycle" and search for the candidate's last name. - In the search results, click on "View" on the right side for the relevant candidate. A pop-up should appear. Check that the candidacy is a match for who you're looking up. |
