CLEAN ELECTIONS IN PRACTICE:

Public financing for qualified candidates who accept
spending limits works well in state after state

 

Clean Elections-style public financing laws are now on the books in all or parts of seven states: in Arizona, Connecticut, and Maine for all state elections; in North Carolina for judicial elections; in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Portland, Oregon for city elections; New Mexico also has clean elections for one statewide office, the Public Regulation Commission; in Vermont for governor and lieutenant-governor races; and in New Jersey, where there was a legislative pilot program in effect for 2005 and is up for renewal for the 2007 cycle. Organizations and individuals in more than 30 states are working to pass publicly financed elections.
 
These groundbreaking public financing laws offer candidates for office a set amount of public funds if they agree to limit their spending and to take little or no private money. Hundreds of candidates from all backgrounds - Democrats and Republicans, incumbents and challengers, etc. - have run and won under these laws. In these places, there is a new type of politics that puts people ahead of wealthy interests. Here are some facts about the successful experiences:

 

  • In Arizona, more than half of those in state elective office covered by the Clean Elections Act ran "clean," including ten of the 11 statewide elected officials.
  • Over 80 percent of the members of the Maine legislature used public financing to gain office.
  • In 2005, Connecticut was the first state in the nation where the legislature and governor approved full public financing for their own races.
  • Also in 2005, the Portland, Oregon, City Council and voters in Albuquerque, New Mexico approved public funding.
  • In 2003, North Carolina enacted a public funding option for State Supreme Court and Court of Appeals candidates. Two of the three seats up in the last election were filled by candidates running "clean."
  • In New Mexico, this year, for the first time, candidates running for the Public Regulation Commission will have the option to qualify for full public funding.
  • Lastly, this past year, in New Jersey, a public financing pilot project was implemented for two state House districts.

 

In short, everywhere Clean Elections-style public financing with spending limits has been given the chance to work, voters and candidates have supported it. States with Clean Elections in place for several election cycles has seen voting turnout and electoral competition improve. And it's a model that's gaining currency in other states - recent progress toward adopting similar laws has emerged in California, Maryland, Tennessee, and other places around the nation.

 

For an overview of public financing laws in the states, click here. 

 

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