Campaign Financing

‘Democracy Vouchers’ Amplify Low-Income Voices

July 16, 2017 Josh Cohen, www.theguardian.com Create! Campaign Financing, Elections, New Economy

By Josh Cohen for The Guardian. If money amplifies the voices of wealthy Americans in politics, Seattle is trying something that aims to give low-income and middle-class voters a signal boost. The city’s new “Democracy Voucher” program, the first of its kind in the US, provides every eligible Seattle resident with $100 in taxpayer-funded vouchers to donate to the candidates of their choice. The goal is to incentivize candidates to take heed of a broad range of residents – homeless people, minimum-wage workers, seniors on fixed incomes – as well as the big-dollar donors who often dictate the political conversation. This August’s primary is the trial run for the program. But before Seattle can crow about having re-enfranchised long-overlooked voters, it must contend with conservative opposition.

Activist Asks Hillary Clinton To Pledge To Reject Fossil Fuel Contributions

April 2, 2016 Eva Resnick-Day, www.greenpeace.org Resist! Campaign Financing, Fossil Fuels, Hillary Clinton

By Eva Resnick-Day for Green Peace - Since the media, Twitter, and Facebook world have spread this of Secretary Clinton and me, I thought that it would be important to share my experience and why I was there today. I care deeply about tackling climate change and I’m deeply concerned about the state of our democracy. I work for Greenpeace USA as a democracy organizer. I do not work for and am in no way affiliated with the Sanders campaign, as Clinton seemed to suggest in her response.

The Not-So-Hidden Fracking Money Fueling The 2016 Elections

February 10, 2016 David Turnbull, www.priceofoil.org Educate! 2016 Elections, Campaign Financing, Fracking, Money in Politics

By David Turnbull for Oil Change International - The New York Times today has pulled together a list of all the individuals who have contributed over 1 million dollars in the 2016 election…and there’s some major fracking money hiding in plain sight. If you take a quick glance at the Times’ list of big contributors, you’ll see a hodgepodge of hedge fund managers, CEOs of major companies, and, of course oil industry executives. But, if you dig a little deeper, one family quickly emerges as a major player in the 2016 race: The Wilks family.

Progress Report: Amend The Constitution

June 30, 2015 Reclaim The American Dream, www.reclaimtheamericandream.org Resist! Campaign Financing, Corruption, Democracy

By Reclaim The American Dream - Sixteen states from coast to coast have gone on record in favor of a constitutional amendment to restore the power of Congress and the states to put some limits on campaign spending. They have acted either through popular referendum, legislative resolutions or collective letters from elected state leaders to Congress. Roughly 500 municipalities, from Liberty, Maine, to Los Angeles, California have also demanded constitutional action to reinstitute clear controls on campaign spending. The Los Angeles referendum, passed by a 77% majority in May 2013, was fairly typical. It instructed elected representatives to seek an amendment stating that “there should be limits on political campaign spending and that corporations should not have the constitutional rights of human beings.”

Why I Landed A Gyrocopter On Capitol Hill

April 18, 2015 Doug Hughes, thedemocracyclub.org Resist! Campaign Financing, Corruption

The point of the flight is to spotlight corruption in DC and more importantly, to present the solution(s) to the institutional graft. There will be apprehension about the threat posed by any aircraft that defies the no-fly zone. I’m as curious as anyone what the response will be. Maybe more. The only reason I’m writing about me is to dispel any fear and foster some curiosity. Curiosity may hold an audience of voters long enough for them to hear about solutions to a problem they despaired of solving years ago. Let me assure you, as I have informed the authorities, I have no violent inclinations or intent. An ultralight aircraft poses no major physical threat – it may present a political threat to graft. I hope so. There’s no need to worry – I’m just delivering the mail.

Dark Money In Key Senate Races ‘Shattering’ Records

October 23, 2014 Lauren McCauley, www.portside.org Educate! Campaign Financing, Law, Senate, Supreme Court

Unknown donors and big-monied, outside groups are pouring record amounts of cash into key Senate races set to determine which political party will take control over the upper house come November's election, according to a new report published Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice. The report, Election Spending 2014: 9 Toss-Up Senate Races (pdf), found that outside spending by undisclosed "dark money" groups is on track to "shatter previous records." According to newly-released data from the Federal Elections Commission, of the nine hotly-contested senate races this year—Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, and North Carolina—all but one is expected to beat the previous record for most outside money spent in a senate race, $52.4 million in Virginia in 2012.

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