Maine and Seattle see important donor transparency votes that could redefine campaign finance laws | Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles
From the Brennan Center:
Voters in Maine and Seattle will be asked to approve referenda Tuesday that offer the chance of cleaner, more representative elections. Maine’s ballot initiative enhances the state’s Clean Elections law by boosting funds for public financing, strengthening disclosure, and stiffening penalties for violations. Writing for The Huffington Post, Benjamin T. Brickner called the Maine effort, “a national model for ensuring that state governments remain of, by and for the people — not special interests.”
Meanwhile, Seattle voters have the chance to approve the nation’s first voucher system to finance candidates. Under the plan, each voter would get four $25 vouchers they could assign to candidates for mayor, city council, or city attorney. Candidates participating in the voucher program would agree to lower campaign contribution and spending limits. PolicyMic called the Seattle measure a “major political milestone which could radically transform the influence of money in politics.”
And the fight to police illegal coordination between allegedly independent groups and campaigns continues. The California Fair Political Practices Commission adopted new rules to bar illegal coordination between outside groups and campaigns. The new restrictions echo policies proposed last year in the Brennan Center report After Citizens United: The Story in the States. Not all developments, however, are in the direction of positive reform. The Wisconsin Senate is now contemplating a bill that would allow more hidden money. In a letter opposing the legislation, the Brennan Center wrote that the proposal would, “make it easy for super PACs and other outside groups to flood Wisconsin races with secret campaign money.” Read more from Daniel I. Weiner and Brent Ferguson in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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