Ever wonder if there’s more (or less) to someone’s story when they are running for office? From national races to local elected office, democracy depends on understanding how qualified candidates are for the role they are seeking, and this free training will offer a range of techniques to background political figures, helping better understand potential conflicts of interest, work histories, assets and more.

MuckRock FOIA Fellow Albert Serna Jr., who has been backgrounding candidates and key races, will lead the training, sharing what he’s learned and giving request and document ideas for the beginner and expert alike.

The training is open to everyone. Strategies covered will include:

• How to read up on what’s already out there and do your homework
• Digging through open-source records repositories to find secrets hiding in plain sight
• How various licenses and registrations can help tell surprising stories
• Where you can find critical lobbying and financial disclosures
• What to look for in seemingly dry records collection

Register here, and subscribe to the newsletter for additional resources and updates to help bring more transparency to next year’s elections.