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DO MORE


Here are more critical ways you can help us push for the Fair Elections legislation:

  1. Tell your Senator to stop the money chase!  Tell your Senator that you demand fair elections.  Take action!
  2. Post comments on blogs and link to www.StopTheMoneyChase.org/Petition.  Check out what blogs are saying about fair elections and public financing.  Then tell them about our campaign!  Be sure to include our web address in your comment.
  3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.  Letters to the Editor are an easy and important way to build public support for our issue.  Use the talking points below.
  4. Call a talk-radio show and voice your opinion.  No matter where your favorite show falls on the political spectrum, we can all agree on the importance of fair elections!  Use the talking points below.

 

 


Fair Elections Talking Points

 

  • Fair Elections save taxpayers money.  Paying for publicly funded elections is far less expensive than the cost taxpayers must shoulder in a pay-to-play system, in which lobbyists, unions, and corporate interests win expensive policy paybacks in the form of earmarks.  Congress spent $63.8 billion in earmarks in fiscal year 2006, while a Fair Elections program would cost about $1 billion per year.
  • Fair Election reforms help control the spiraling cost of campaigns.  Participating candidates must accept spending limits, and matching funds help level the playing field and decrease the incentive to outspend opponents.  Campaign spending dropped by 18% in Maine in its first year using publicly funded elections.
  • Fair Election reforms increase voter participation.  Voter turnout increased in both Maine and Arizona after the states enacted fair election reforms, and voters in both states also gave more small contributions under the new system.
  • Fair Election reforms make elections more competitive and give voters more choice.  Again, evidence from both Maine and Arizona shows that more races were contested under the publicly funded system for elections.
  • Fair Election reforms have benefited Republicans and Democrats alike. Voluntary participation in Fair Elections frees candidates from the money chase, allows them to spend more time communicating with voters, and promises competitive funding in exchange for their agreement to spending and contribution limits.  Candidate participation in Maine's system has grown dramatically since 2000, and now over 80% of the legislature ran using public funds; in Arizona over half of all candidates ran using public funds.