[print friendly]

April 14-18 is Fair Elections Action Week - It's time to change the system. It's time to bring full public financing to our elections. You can help reform the system by supporting the Fair Elections Now Act.

The problem of money and its influence in elections is fundamental and must be addressed with a fundamental solution: the public funding of congressional elections – also called Fair Elections.

Public funding puts voters back at the center of elections. In a Fair Elections system, candidates establish their credibility by collecting a number of small contributions, such as $5, from supporters. A set number of these donations make them eligible for public funds, if the candidate agrees to accept no additional private money and abide by strict spending limits. When candidates face privately funded opponents who outspend them or independent expenditures made on behalf of their opposition, they qualify for additional funding, up to a limit. 

The benefits of Fair Elections for congressional elections are substantial:

• More and different voices would be heard on Capitol Hill; 
• There would be less pressure on lawmakers to cater to special interest donors; 
• Candidates would spend less time raising money, and more time serving the public and speaking with constituents; and 
• Public confidence in the integrity of elections and elected officials would increase.

Some states like Arizona and Maine, and municipalities like Portland, Oregon and Albuquerque, New Mexico, have successfully reduced the impact of money in politics by using public funding for elections. Candidates running in these systems, often called Clean Elections or Voter Owned Elections, spend time talking to constituents, rather than dialing for dollars. 

Public funding of congressional elections is a great deal for the American taxpayer.  It would cost just a fraction of one percent of the annual federal budget. But it would produce lawmakers who would not feel obligated to repay donors with costly tax breaks, special earmarks and other boondoggles that drain billions of taxpayer dollars from the Treasury.   Imagine how much more affordable gas, prescription drugs and college loans would be without the special interest subsidies.  Imagine a government truly run by and for the people.

It's time to return our government to the people. Join us in our fight for clean and Fair Elections now.

Learn more about Fair Elections >>>

• What's Happening in Congress?
  
  A bill for public funding of congressional elections, S. 1285, was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and would help remove the corrosive and corrupting influence of campaign cash on our elected representatives. For just a fraction of one percent of the annual budget, public funding of elections would eliminate the money race for candidates and costly paybacks to industry contributors – and would be the best deal the American taxpayer ever got.
  
  WATCH Sen. Durbin introduce the bill.
  LEARN more. 
  
  
• The Buzz on Fair Elections
  
  Read the latest analysis and thoughts in the Watchdog Blog posts by our Fair Elections expert Craig Holman, and others.
  
  Fair Elections is catching on! See a list of other organizations that support the Fair Elections Now Act.
  
  
• Take Action
  
  Do your members of Congress support Fair Elections? Call your representative and senators and ask them to cosponsor the Fair Elections Now Act.
  
  We need citizen lobbyists to help pass the Fair Elections Now Act.  If you are ready to get started, or if you are interested in learning more about how to get involved, contact Angela Canterbury at action@citizen.org (please use "Fair Elections" in the subject line).  Together we can clean up Washington and make our Congress more accountable to us. 
  
  Visit our coalition Web site.
  
  
• Voters First Pledge
  
  Scandals. Indictments. Convictions. Politics is awash in big money and regular people are shut out. Americans want Congress to put voters first, not lobbyists or big campaign donors. Public Citizen is a part of a national coalition of reform groups which collected candidate signatures to the Voters First Pledge. Signers pledged to:
  
  Help establish and enforce Fair Elections.
  
  Pass a meaningful ban on gifts and travel from lobbyists.
  
  Require full disclosure of all lobbyists' contributions and fundraising activities.
  
  364 candidates signed the pledge, and 108 members of the 110th Congress are pledge-signers.
  
  Click here to find out more about the pledge and to see if your members of Congress signed!