Candidate Accountability Research Training with Sunlight Search

Session 1 - Backgrounding Basics (with Muckrock) 

• Create a Timeline & Source List:  To understand the pieces of a candidate’s life and how they fit together, we will create a chronology and a list of potential sources.  

• Start with the Basics:  Use the Internet and proprietary databases like LexisNexis to start filling out the candidate’s timeline with the basics, like addresses and marriage and divorce records. 

• File FOIA Requests:  Your timeline and list of associated people will help you understand where the candidate has intersected with public records. The FOIA experts at MuckRock will show you how to find public documents that illuminate the candidate’s past. 

Session 2 - Getting Personal with Finances 

• Finding and Analyzing Personal Financial Disclosures:  Download and analyze personal financial disclosures that candidates file at the federal, state and local levels. Using a Sunlight-developed analytical tool, you’ll gain critical insights into how the candidate makes a living.  

• Business Interests and Assets:  Find lawsuits involving the candidate and their businesses. Find bankruptcy proceedings and search SEC and Universal Commercial Code filings to find out more about their companies.  

• Property:  Find properties the candidate owns or has owned and whether they owe any unpaid property taxes.  

Session 3 - It's All Political (with Open Secrets) 

• Political History: Understand the candidate’s previous involvement in politics from voting history and legislation they filed to interactions with lobbyists. 

• Campaign Finance:  Analyze contributions to and expenditures from a candidate’s campaign, along with independent expenditures in support of or opposition to the candidate.  

• Lobbying Records:  Use public records and data to identify ties between the candidate and lobbyists. 

Session 4 - Social Media Sleuthing (with Muckrock) 

• Beyond Profiles:  Identify a candidate’s social media profiles and learn how to conduct advanced searches. We’ll go beyond the usual Facebook and X to look into alternative social media sites, messaging platforms, forums and online fundraising websites.  

• Tracking Changes:  Learn to use Wayback Machine, Klaxon and other tools to track how and when the candidate changes information on a website. 

• Connect the Dots:  Analyze social media profiles to identify potential red flags.   

Session 5 - School & Work 

• Alumni Questions:  Identify high schools, colleges and graduate schools the candidate attended — and whether their claims about attending and graduating are accurate.  

• Candidate Resume:  Create a timeline of when and where the candidate has worked using public data and online resources.  

• Government Loans:  Search government databases to find out if the candidate is connected with businesses that have received government loans.