Connecticut's
new system of public financing of campaigns promises to
help liberate our democracy, diminish the influence of monied
interests,
open up the electoral process to more citizens, free
candidates to
spend more time meeting voters than chasing money, and challenge
entrenched politicians.
Whether or not this promise is fulfilled depends in part on
how well
potential candidates and volunteers understand, embrace, and adopt the
new system. Below
I've outlined the basic rules of clean elections funding and
how grassroots candidates for the state
legislature can use the program to take back our democracy.
(Note: I am neither a lawyer nor a campaign finance
expert, and do not guarantee the accuracy of my summary of the
law.
Candidates and volunteers should review the
rules themselves and consult the State Elections Enforcement
Commission.)
Most importantly, spread the word and encourage potential progressive
candidates to take advantage of public financing, run for office, and
make sure that every
Republican and at least a
few DINOs are challenged in 2008.
Candidates for State Senator or State Representative in
2008, or General Assembly special election candidates in 2007
Candidates for statewide office in 2010
For the sake of simplicity, this summary focuses on major party candidates for the
General
Assembly. Participation in the Citizens' Election Program is
voluntary.
All candidates must sign an affadavit of their intent to participate or
not participate. The State Elections Enforcement Commission
administers and
monitors compliance with the program.
Qualifying threshold
contributions
To qualify for public financing, candidates must demonstrate support
for their candidacy by gathering enough small contributions to
meet a qualifying threshold. These qualifying
contributions
are the only private (i.e, non-governmental) sources of funding
allowed for clean elections candidates. The candidates must
gather a minimum number of small contributions from
residents of towns in their district, though they can also accept funds
from contributors outside those towns.
Qualifying
threshold
Minimum number of individual resident contributions
of $5 to $100 each
State
Representative
$5,000
150
residents of towns included (in whole or in part) in the
district
State
Senator
$15,000
300
residents of towns included (in whole or in part) in the district
Fundraising during the qualifying period could ideally look more like
grassroots organizing than a series of fat cat solicitations.
Are
these qualifying thresholds easy to reach? Not
necessarily. By
comparison, in 2000, the median
amount
raised during the entire campaign was $5,954 among House
challengers and
$7,475 among Senate challengers. But a four-to-one match from
the Citizens' Election Fund in a general election
(see below) could provide a strong incentive for donors.
Any non-individuals, e.g., political action committees
(including Democratic town committees), businesses, etc.
Campaigns must document and disclose the source of each contribution.
Candidates may contribute personal funds to their campaigns (up to
$1,000 for State Representative and up to
$2,000 for
State Senate) before they
apply for their initial public financing "grant." However,
their grant
will be reduced by the amount of their personal contributions, and
personal funds cannot be used as qualifying contributions.
Thus, the main advantage of personal contributions
would be as seed money.
Candidates may also take out loans from a bank or credit union of up to
$1,000. However, these loans must be repaid before applying
for
the Citizens' Election Fund grant. (Candidates cannot loan
personal funds to their campaigns.)
Primary campaign grants
Once candidates meet their qualifying contributions threshold and the
usual ballot
requirements, they qualify to receive a primary campaign grant from the
Citizens' Election Fund. If there is no primary, general
election candidates do not receive any primary funds.
Some districts are so dominated by one party that the primary election
essentially determines the winner of the general election.
Recognizing
this reality, the program gives larger grants to primary candidates in
party-dominant
districts, i.e., districts in which active registered
voters in one major party outnumber those in the other major party by
at
least 20%.
Primary Grant Amount:
Major Party
Primary
Grant Amount:
Party-Dominant District
State
Representative
$10,000
$25,000
State
Senator
$35,000
$75,000
General election campaign
grants
Candidates receive less than the full general election grant if they
are
unopposed or face a minor party or petitioning opponent who
has not raised enough
to meet the qualifying contribution threshold (i.e., the opponent will
not receive a campaign grant).
Full
Grant
Unopposed
candidates
(get 30%)
Candidates with limited minor party or
petitioning opponent (get 60%)
State
Representative
$25,000
$7,500
$15,000
State
Senator
$85,000
$25,500
$51,000
(By comparison, median
campaign spending in 2004 -- combining primary &
general elections -- was $14,589 for the House and $61,949 for the
Senate.)
Spending limits
Spending limits depend on the phase of the campaign.
Essentially, candidates cannot spend more than they have
raised
or have been granted during the three periods outlined above.
Qualifying
period.
Candidates cannot spend more than the total of their
qualifying contributions
and personal funds (i.e., funds contributed by the candidate).
Qualifying
contributions
Personal
funds
Spending
limit
State
Representative
$5,000
$1,000
$5,000-$6,000
State
Senator
$15,000
$2,000
$15,000-$17,000
(Keep in mind that Citizens' Election Fund grants are reduced by the
amount of personal funds contributed.)
Primary
campaign period.
This period begins the day after the close of the nominating
convention/caucus and ends on the day of the primary election.
The spending limit is the total of
the amount of the primary grant, plus
any unspent qualifying contributions or unspent personal
funds
General
election campaign period.
If there is a primary, the general election campaign period
begins the day after the primary. If there is no primary,
this
period begins the day after the candidate is nominated. The
general campaign period ends the day the campaign treasurer files the
final disclosure statement. The spending limit is
the amount of the general election grant, plus
any unspent qualifying contributions or unspent personal
funds
One down side of the new system is that the grant amounts and
qualifying
contribution thresholds are set so high. We can expect to see
more ads, mailings, lawn signs, and other evidence of spending than
ever before in state history. In an election with a primary,
clean elections candidates can typically be expected to
spend $40,000 in the House and $135,000 in the
Senate! Without a primary, the typical spending limits
would be $30,000 and $100,000, respectively, far more than the
average candidate spending in 2004.
Regulations on the types
of
expenses allowed ("permissible expenses") for 2008 campaigns have not
been issued. In the meantime, the SEEC directs people to
their regulations
for 2007 special election candidates (PDF).
When clean elections
candidates are outspent
When a non-participating opponent spends more than the spending limit
for a
participating clean
elections candidate, then the clean elections candidate
can receive supplemental grant funds to make up the difference.
From my reading, it appears that clean elections candidates
will
receive supplemental matching funds up to 100% of the clean elections
spending limit.
So if a non-participating opponent spends up to
twice the
clean
elections spending limit, then the clean elections candidate would
receive a dollar-for-dollar match. However, if the opponent
spends more than twice the limit, the clean candidate would be out of
luck and money. (Even so, few candidates have raised that
much in
the past and trying to outspend a clean elections candidate could
backfire in terms of voter perception.)
Spending of non-participating opponent
Clean
elections candidate funding sources
Up
to 100% of clean elections spending limit
Citizens'
Election Fund grant(s) & qualifying contributions
Over
100% up to 200% of clean elections spending limit
Supplemental
grant(s) from Citizens' Elections Fund
Over
200% of clean elections spending limit
Not
available
Candidates must report "excess expenditures" -- spending that exceeds
the spending limit for clean elections candidates -- to the SEEC within
24 to 48 hours (depending on how close the election is).
Independent expenditures
As viewers of the "Swift Boat" ads will recall, political action
committees often make independent expenditures on behalf of a
candidate.
These are funds that are spent without the
knowledge, consent, or consultation of a candidate; they are
not "coordinated" expenditures. A clean elections
candidate
can receive a supplemental grant to match these independent
expenditures:
If an independent expenditure is made to support the
opponent of a clean elections candidate, and
If the total of the independent expenditure and the
opposing
candidate's campaign spending exceeds the grant amount of the clean
elections candidate
Independent expenditures of more than $1,000 must be reported to the
SEEC within 24 to 48 hours.
In-kind party committee
contributions
In a significant "loophole" for big money interests, the law
could increase the influence of certain PACs. Party
committees (state central or town committees), legislative caucus
committees, and legislative leadership committees can provide
in-kind support ("organization expenditures") to participating Senate
candidates (up to $10,000) and
Representative candidates ($3,500) in a general election.
These in-kind contributions
include:
Creation and distribution of party candidate listings
through advertising, mailings, Internet, etc.
Lists of registered voters and voter ID information
Campaign events
Campaign advisors
Use of offices, telephones, computers and other equipment
that does not result in additional cost to the PAC
To some extent, these supports
represent the normal and healthy activity of party
organizations, pooling
resources to help multiple candidates. However, in a "fixed
income" campaign world, these in-kind contributions could provide a
competitive advantage and create an indebtedness to legislative and
party leadership. This indebtedness could result in
conformity to
a legislative agenda dictated by leadership. These rules also
could increase the influence
of monied interests on legislative leaders, since the pressure to
raise funds will be high, and allowable contribution levels for these
PACs
are relatively high.
These PACs cannot provide direct monetary contributions to
participating candidates, or make in-kind contributions to them during
primary
elections. There are limited numbers of allowable
leadership and caucus committees.
4:
President Pro Tempore (1), Majority Leader (1), Minority Leader (2)
Legislative
caucus
2:
Democrats (1), Republicans (1)
2:
Democrats (1), Republicans (1)
The more grassroots and local nature of raising qualifying
contributions and the growing importance of party PACs could also
increase the influence and vitality of town committees.
Connecticut's
new system of public financing of campaigns promises to
help liberate our democracy, diminish the influence of monied
interests,
open up the electoral process to more citizens, free
candidates to
spend more time meeting voters than chasing money, and challenge
entrenched politicians. 
Resources
and making it happen
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