Limiting the amount of money that a campaign can legally accept is one of the most commonsense solutions to ensuring that our elected officials represent the people—not special interests. Setting and enforcing these limits requires candidates to build support from a broad base of voters, instead of solely relying on a few major donors to write big checks.
In 2002, Colorado voters took an important step in limiting campaign contributions by passing Amendment 27. This amendment sets reasonable contribution limits: $200 per election for legislative candidates and $550 per election for statewide candidates. The law also banned direct contributions from corporations and labor unions directly to candidate campaigns.
However, these restrictions do not apply to all local and state races here in Colorado. There are currently no restrictions on how much money candidates running for school board in Colorado can accept from outside sources. The result is that these elections are increasingly becoming flooded with special interest money.
Each year, Colorado Common Cause fights for stronger contribution limits at our state Capitol. We will continue to prioritize this work, while simultaneously fighting for stronger disclosure laws and public campaign financing.