An Our Philadelphia Blog Post
The Fair Elections Now Act
The skyrocketing cost of congressional campaigns forces potential candidates to ask a difficult question: do I have sufficient financial backing from wealthy donors and corporate PACs necessary to run a competitive race? The need to fundraise fundamentally mars the purpose of running for office as a representative of voters, instead breeding an ever more entrenched relationship between incumbency and the approval of the relative few able to max out checks and bundle large contributions.
A better alternative exists. In Maine, Connecticut, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and North Carolina, public campaign financing systems have allowed almost 400 state legislators, judges, and statewide officials to run for office without taking a single dollar from special interests. In Maine and Connecticut, the two states with the most comprehensive systems of public financing, more than 80% of current state legislators won on “clean money” and are now able to take bold action that benefits constituents without worrying whether an unhappy industry will turn against them in their next campaign.
Twin bills in the U.S. Congress that would provide public financing for congressional campaigns are gaining speed in Washington. Two out of three voters and 63% of independents support the Fair Elections Now Act, co-sponsored by 153 House Representatives and 20 Senators, as a way to purge special interest money from politics in Washington and give our elected officials the ability to address our nation’s challenges in ways that protect people and the environment, not large banks and big oil. The Fair Elections Now Act establishes a voluntary system of public financing; voters must opt-in to and qualify for the system by collecting a number of signatures, raising a specified amount of token donations, and swearing off any contributions over an aggregate $100. In return, candidates are able to run competitive campaigns on a blend of limited public funds (based on the current costs of campaigns) and unlimited small donations that are matched on a four-to-one basis from the fair elections fund. This kind of system both encourages and demands that candidates connect with their voters on the ground in order to gain the competitive financial edge in a campaign. Furthermore, the Fair Elections public money is funded in full by a small percent of the largest government contracts, such as those awarded to British Petroleum.
With the Supreme Court’s January ruling on Citizens United, the influence of money in politics has never been more heavy and unavoidable. Imagine a 2010 election cycle in which a candidate in your congressional district could say, “if you support me with $100, I actually receive $500. If you can ask your friend to give $100, then together you’ve actually given $1,000 with your $200, and I don’t have to spend my time organizing $1,000-a-plate fundraisers.” Fair Elections public financing systems engage candidates with voters in order to be elected and stay in office.
To learn more about the Fair Elections Now Act (HR. 1826, S. 752), visit the national coalition website at www.fairelectionsnow.org.