We know that lobbyist’s clients donate largely to political campaigns. But, do campaign donations influence the decisions of policymakers? 

MapLight.org is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that compiles data on campaign financing from sources such as OpenSecrets and couples that data with voting records from sources such as GovTrack.us and independent research.

We will be using MapLight.org to investigate campaign finance, so go ahead and open up their site in a new window or tab.

Watch the tutorial to learn how to use MapLight:

1. Select the "Interest Groups" tab
2. Select an Industry from the list
3. Select the "Bills Supported & Opposed" tab
4. Select a Bill from the list
5. Review the "Contributions by Vote" data
6. Select the "$ Near Votes" tab; this displays a breakdown of contributions made to individual legislators within 30 days of voting on the bill
7. Select the "Timeline by Contribution" tab to see how contribution amounts vary during the months leading up to the vote on the bill