Money in Politics Brief

Mobilize.org is focusing its efforts on empowering members of the Millennial Generation to develop innovative clean elections practices, emphasizing the creation of public finance reforms at the local and state level. 

These types of reforms are intended to give voters more control over the government by making politicians accountable to voters rather than wealthy campaign contributors. 

Under a typical clean elections system, a candidate gathers a set number of signatures and small contributions to show community support. Then, the candidate receives a grant from the state to run his or her campaign. For example, in 2005, in Connecticut, the legislature passed a voluntary Clean Elections law, which included the following plan: 

“A state senate candidate would have to raise $15,000 in contributions of $100 or less. That candidate would then receive a $35,000 grant for his or her primary and an additional $85,000 to continue to the general election. Candidates would be eligible for additional matching funds to keep pace with a privately funded 
candidate who outspent them, or to deal with independent expenditures that target them.” (Source: Common Cause, www.commoncause.org/CleanElections). 

These types of clean election practices have been adopted by a variety of states and localities, including Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Vermont, Albuquerque, NM, and Portland, OR. Currently, states like California and Maryland are considering similar plans within their 
legislatures. At the federal level, a broad coalition of organizations including Common Cause and Public Campaign are championing the Fair Elections Now Act, which would enact clean elections for congressional races. A diverse array of groups are backing the legislation, including the League of Women Voters, NAACP, 
Sierra Club, AFL-CIO, Americans for Campaign Reform, National Council of Churches USA, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Activists in more than twenty states are working for clean elections. 

These state and local level systems are part of a new wave of efforts to change the old partially reformed system of money in politics. They have broad public support and are growing in popularity among elected officials and candidates for office since they were implemented at the start of the 21st century. 

Money does influence politics, but the challenge that lies ahead for the Millennial Generation is to develop new and more solutions that balance competing democratic interests and focus candidates back on what is.