Public records.
Open to everyone.

Public information should be easy to find and understand. Too often, using it means knowing which filing system to search, how to open a database export, and how to connect names across records.

Dark Money Map brings those records together in a map you can explore. Start with a person, organization, committee or bill. Follow a connection, read what it means, and check the public source behind it.

The project focuses on California state campaign finance, lobbying and legislation. It connects committees and their givers, candidates, ballot measures, lobbying firms, organizations and bills.

Each connection identifies its relationship type, reporting period and public source. Search for a name, explore its connections, and open the underlying records.

We publish the method, sources, limitations and data files. Figures reflect the filings included in a saved release, not a live balance. Bill-level lobbying estimates are labelled and explained in the method.

If something looks wrong, send a correction with the record and the source filing.

The project began on February 8, 2026. The changelog records what has changed since the earliest documented prototype, including data updates, new features and corrections.

For the dates and coverage of the snapshot on the map today, see the current data release.