There was a much recommended new post on the subject of campaign finance reform at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law written by Lawrence Norden and Daniel I. Weiner. Take a look at this excerpt:

Although not all campaign spending is disclosed, we know that PACs, third-party groups, and other big donors dominate candidates’ funding. The donations from of people who can’t spend as much mean very little by comparison. In 2020, the 5,000 donors able to give $100,000 or more in contributions spent nearly $2.8 billion — almost twice the total amount the 14 million Americans who made small donations of $200 or less. This translates into an outsized role in shaping government policy on a whole host of issues, from tax policy to healthcare to (imaginary) voter fraud, often in ways that conflict with what most Americans want.

Ultimately, fixing these problems will require more than the pledges corporations have made in recent days, or even promises to stop donating either directly or indirectly to super PACs. If we want a clean break from our broken campaign finance system, one that will result in more accountability to the American public, Congress must pass the kind of reforms found in the For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1).

Money politics has long dominated American politics, but the scale of the problem has gotten much worse since the Supreme Court made its infamous 2010 ruling known as Citizens United. For more information, visit the main Democracy Chronicles section on American Democracy or our articles on Money Politics and Worldwide Corruption.