Documentation
How to work with our data tracking campaign finance and lobbying activity in California politics.
Sections
Definitions, record layouts and data dictionaries for the processed data files released by the California Civic Data Coalition. Recommended for beginners and regular use.
Definitions, record layouts and data dictionaries for the 80 raw files released from the California Secretary of State's CAL-ACCESS database. For experts only.
Descriptions, samples and other documentation for the 42 forms that campaigns and lobbyists use to disclose activity to California's Secretary of State.
The jumbled, fragmentary and unreliable documentation for the CAL-ACCESS database provided by California's Secretary of State. For more authoritative information refer to the materials above.
Answers to common questions about this project and the underlying CAL-ACCESS database.