[Pacg] Call your State Reps about Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections

[Carolina 1961]

>From Ed Fallon:



VOTER-OWNED IOWA CLEAN ELECTIONS (VOICE)

It's exciting to see legislation making its way through the Iowa House.  But
lawmakers need to hear from us.  I put together this Q & A piece that might
prove helpful.  It's also attached to this message, if you'd like a
printable version to share with others.

Q:  What is VOICE, and how does it work?

A:  VOICE is a campaign finance system that lets candidates run for office
without relying on special-interest money.  VOICE is voluntary, and it gives
candidates a choice on how to finance their campaigns.  If a candidate wants
to run a conventional campaign, (s)he can still raise money from PACs,
lobbyists and big donors.  But in states like Maine and Arizona, more people
are choosing to run using the clean elections system, and a majority of them
are winning.

Under the proposed Iowa law, participating candidates limit their
fundraising to $5 donations from residents of their districts.  If they're a
House candidate, they need to raise 100 $5 donations.  For Senate
candidates, the requirement is 200 $5 donations.  A candidate for governor
must raise 2,500 $5 donations, with 20% coming from each congressional
district.  The bill applies to all statewide and legislative offices.

When the candidate raises the required number of $5 donations, the money is
deposited in the state's clean elections fund.  The candidate then receives
from that fund:

-- for a House candidate, $15,000 for the primary and $30,000 for the
general;

-- for a Senate candidate, $22,000 for the primary and $40,000 for the
general; and

-- for candidates for governor, $750,000 for the primary, $3 million for the
general.

If a VOICE candidate has an opponent who raises money from conventional
sources and who exceeds the initial amount of money allotted to the VOICE
candidate, the VOICE candidate receives an additional dollar for dollar
match.  This allows the VOICE candidate to remain competitive.  And because
VOICE candidates no longer incur fundraising expenses, the money they
receive from the clean elections fund tends to go a lot further.

Q: Is there a VOICE bill before the Iowa Legislature?

A: Yes.  It's called HSB 105.  The bill is in the House State Government
Committee, and there is a companion bill in the Senate.  To read the bill,
visit http://www.legis.state.ia.us/ and type "HSB 105" in the upper right
hand corner in the box marked "Quick Find:  Bills and Iowa Code."  This web
page also allows you to find committee members and to obtain contact
information for any representative or senator.

Q:  How much will VOICE cost?

A:  It depends on what elections the bill covers.  If VOICE is available to
just legislative candidates, the price tag will be around $3 million per
election cycle.  If it also covers all statewide elections, as in Arizona,
it will cost around $10 million per election cycle.

Q:  How will VOICE be financed?

A:  This type of legislation is often referred to as "public financing," and
to some people that implies raising taxes on the average person to pay for
political campaigns.  Under HSB 105, that's not the case.  Most of the money
would come from a sales tax on advertising – so corporations and others
(like politicians!) who spend a lot on advertising would foot the bill.
Additional revenue for the fund would come from the $5 qualifying
contributions, an income tax check-off and other voluntary donations.

Q:  How will VOICE improve the political process?

A:  VOICE lets candidates focus on meeting voters as opposed to wining and
dining lobbyists and big donors.  By drastically reducing the role of money
in politics, VOICE returns power to the people that government is supposed
to represent.  In Maine, State Senator Ed Youngblood, a retired bank
executive, wanted to spend time with voters instead of raising money. "I
wanted to be able to say 'I'm not accountable to anyone but you, the
voter.'"  He defeated a sixteen-year incumbent.

In fact, 83% of Maine legislators were elected using the clean elections
system.  In Arizona, nine of eleven statewide office holders were elected
using that state's clean elections system, including two-term governor Janet
Napolitano.

Ultimately, if lawmakers no longer are beholden to big donors and special
interests, they are more likely to focus on issues voters want to see
addressed.  For example, in recent years in both Maine and Arizona,
significant health care initiatives were enacted, despite opposition from
lobbyists in the medical, insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Q:  What effect would VOICE have on third-party candidates?

A:  In Maine and Arizona, the clean elections law has had no noticeable
impact on third party participation in elections.  There are still some
third-party candidates who run and qualify for clean elections funds, but
with only a couple exceptions, the candidates who win are either Democrat or
Republican.

Many prospective candidates don't run for office because they are
intimidated by the huge amount of money they need to raise.  Now that
candidates in Maine and Arizona have a viable option to big-money campaigns,
more people are willing to run, and this is healthy in a democracy.  Yet the
threshold for viability in a clean elections system (i.e., lots of small
donations from residents of the district) is high enough to discourage truly
fringe candidates, but not so onerous to discourage legitimate candidates of
any political persuasion.

Thanks for taking the time to be involved in democracy!

Ed Fallon
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