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Florida Gets A Passing Grade For Campaign Ad Disclosure

The National Institute on Money in State Politics issues grades based on states' campaign disclosure requirements.
National Institute on Money in State Politics

After last month’s election, the National Institute on Money in State Politics has published scorecards for all fifty states.  The group grades states based on disclosure requirements for campaign advertising.

The Montana-based think tank has good news and bad news.  The bad news is 24 states got a failing grade when it comes to financial disclosure requirements.  The good news is Florida wasn’t one of them.  The sunshine state got a B, and managing director Denise Roth Barber says lack of clarity in issue ads is the main thing separating the state from an A grade.

“The way the forms are created in Florida the targets and the positions cannot always be easily identified in the forms,” Barber says.

Last year, Florida received a D because it had no target or position requirements at all.  Barber suggests simply creating a new form could clarify both issues. 

The study lauds Florida for requiring disclosure of spending on direct and indirect campaign ads.  Many of the states with failing grades have lower or even no disclosure requirements when it comes to indirect, or so-called issue advertising.

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.