Tutorial: Working with Downloadable FEC Data Files Using MS Access.
These files contain one record for each campaign. This record contains summary financial information. The summary information contained in these files is completely dependent upon what is reported by the campaign itself. This means that the time period covered by this file may be more recent than for the current version of "cansum" described below. During the primary election season the period covered may be different for candidates in different states. The cost of this timliness, though, is that some of the information available here is less precise than for "cansum". For example, in "cansum" you can see how much a campaign received from Corporate PACs or Labor PACs, while here there is only one value for the total received from "other political committees." This includes all PAC contributions, but it may also contain contributions from other candidates, and some other types of committees we don't typically think of as PACs. We can't do the full breakdowns until all the information about specific contributions has been entered into the database.
When using these summary files you need to be aware of some possible double counting of activity. Some candidates have more then one committee authorized to raise and spend funds on their behalf. The activity reflected in this file represents the sum of those committees. If they transfer funds back and forth among each other, this activity would be counted twice. Information about "transfers from authorized committees" and "transfers to authorized committees" is included in the file and if there are values in both of these fields it is necessary to subtract these from total receipts and total disbursements to obtain a more accurate value for actual activity.
Candidate Financial Summaries (Current Campaigns) Election Cycle File Format Description
The all candidate summary file contains one record including summary financial information for all candidates who raised or spent money during the period no matter when they are up for election. This file is similar to the current campaign summary file described above. This file is completely dependent upon summary information reported by the campaign itself. This means that the time period covered by this file may be more recent than for the current version of the post-cycle candidate summary file described below. During the primary election season the period covered may be different for candidates in different states. The cost of this timeliness, though, is that some of the information available here is less precise than for the post-cycle candidate summary file. For example, break-outs by special interest group code are not possible.
When using the all candidates summary file you need to be aware of some possible double counting of activity. Some candidates have more then one committee authorized to raise and spend funds on their behalf. The activity reflected in this file represents the sum of those committees. If they transfer funds back and forth among each other, this activity would be counted twice. Information about “transfers from authorized committees” and “transfers to authorized committees” is included in the file and if there are values in both of these fields it is necessary to subtract these from total receipts and total disbursements to obtain a more accurate value for actual activity.
Election Cycle |
File |
Format Description |
|---|---|---|
2011- 2012 |
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2009 - 2010 |
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2007 - 2008 |
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2005 - 2006 |
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2003 - 2004 |
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2001 - 2002 |
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1999 - 2000 |
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1997 - 1998 |
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1995 - 1996 |
The most current information available for PACs is a file called, webk. This file gives overall receipts and disbursements for each PAC and party committee registered with the commission, along with a breakdown of overall receipts by source and totals for contributions to other committees, independent expenditures made, etc.
PAC Financial Summaries (Current) Election Cycle File Format Description
