Data Acquisition
The South Carolina State Ethics Commission (SCSEC) provides access to campaign finance reports in two ways:
- Website – The South Carolina website provides two different interfaces for browsing campaign finance information:
- Candidate Reports – search by Candidate to view filed reports with related transactions
- Committee Reports – search by Ballot Measure and Non-Candidate committees to view filed reports with related transactions
- Database by request – There is no readily available download from the website, but upon request, the SCSEC will provide a link to the Microsoft SQL Server database backup.
Transparency USA requests the database following each filing deadline. Since this appears to be their entire database, South Carolina provides one of our most consistent and complete data sets.
Reported Data
The state maintains and provides access to two databases: one containing candidate data and the other comprising non-candidate data. We choose to import only a specific portion of the available data, specifically focusing on information about campaign finance.
Transparency USA selectively pulls in records from the databases to ensure data accuracy and relevance.
The state-provided databases store information for Ballot Measure, Candidate, and Non-Candidate transactions separately. Across all data sets discussed below, we have combined these separate data sources for consumption on Transparency USA.
Ballot Measures/Candidates/Non-Candidates
These records represent the candidates and groups (committees) registered to file campaign finance reports with the state.
Transparency USA imports all these records because they are the basis for transactional filing.
Contributions
These records include all contributions, including monetary and non-monetary in-kind contributions.
Transparency USA imports all data from these files.
Expenditures
These records include all expenditures, including monetary and non-monetary in-kind expenditures.
Transparency USA imports all data from these files.
Loans
These records include all loans.
On the state website, loans are categorized as contributions. At Transparency USA, we have a separate loans tab and do not display them as contributions. Additionally, we do not track whether a loan has been repaid or forgiven.
Reports
Reports contain information about each individual report filed by a committee, such as filing dates and amendment statuses.
While Transparency USA does not display any raw cover information on the website, we use the amended flag to exclude duplicate transactions.
Electronic Filing Requirements
Candidates are required by law to file various campaign finance reports by specific deadlines.
All candidates must file a Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) form with the State Ethics Commission. This must be done electronically on the State Ethics Commission website. Candidates may also be required to make Campaign Disclosure reports.
Additional Information
We’re grateful that the state provides a complete campaign finance database. As supporters of transparency, we would ask the state to consider offering a “Bulk Download” option for their data on the website. This would make it much easier to access and utilize the information. Further, it would also remove some guesswork and complexities involved with consuming a database backup for non-technical users.
Party Information
Transparency USA displays the current party affiliation for active candidates and officeholders. The party information displayed may not be accurate:
- For candidates who are not actively running for or serving in state-level office
- When accessing candidate or officeholder data from previous election cycles
Party affiliation for active candidates and officeholders is provided by Ballotpedia.