Money Watch User Instructions


Money Watch data is presented in two levels. In order to see the first level information you must do the following:

 

Select Money Watch from menu displayed on the left side of the Common Cause Georgia home page.  Select a category of office and election year (from the drop down menus) and click Find. This will display the first level of data.


First Level Information
The First Level table contains the following information:

  • Candidate's Name
  • The Office the candidate is (or was) seeking
  • Candidate's total cash contributions and total in-kind contributions for the election cycle.

 

The data is presented initially in office/district sequence.


 

You can sort alphabetically by candidate by clicking on "NAME" at the top of column 1. To re-sort by office or district, click on "OFFICE" at the top of column 2.  For elections currently in progress, incumbents running for re-election are shown in color blue. Incumbents who are not running for re-election to the same office are shown in color red.

 

Common Cause organizes contribution data in the way we believe is most meaningful to citizens who wish to know the amount of financial resources a candidate has at their disposal. Each total amount represents the sum of the money raised by the candidate since 12/31 following the last election for the office - plus, in the case of incumbents, any amount carried over from the previous election to the same office. (Candidates for state office in Georgia are allowed to roll un-spent amounts from previous campaigns forward as long as the candidate is running for the same office).

 

For example, for a candidate for the Georgia Senate in the 2006 election, we would show all contributions from 1/1/05 through the latest reporting period, not going beyond 12/31/06. If the candidate is an incumbent, we also include the un-spent amount carried over from his or her 2004 campaign.

 

Likewise, for serving statewide officials, such as the Governor, we show the historical amounts raised to run their 2002 campaign, plus we have another table to show what they have amassed so far in their war chests for the 2006 campaign.

 

If you wish to see the sources of the contributions shown for any candidate, you may click on the cash amount next to the candidate's name. That will present the second level table in a new window.


Second Level Information
The second level contains the following information:

 

  • Donor's Name
  • City address of donor 
  • Date that the contribution was received 
  • Amount of the contribution 
  • Election Cycle (General, Primary, Special) 
  • Affiliation or an explanation of the contribution, if available

 

If the total amount raised is zero, or if we have not been able to gather the second level data, a message will appear below the table heading directing you to a link to the Secretary of State's site for detail information.

 

Information in the second level table can be sorted in ascending or descending order on any of the columns.

To sort in descending order: Click on the down arrow at the top of a column.

 

To sort in ascending order: Click on the up arrow at the top of a column.

 

Once you have the data on the screen and sorted in the order you wish, you can print the display by clicking on Print. The displayed data may also be selected, copied (Ctrl and C), then pasted into a spreadsheet for further analysis. To go back to the first level, click Close Window.