Oct 3, 2015, Letter from Allison Cairo, TexPIRG http://texpirg.org/
We’re still more than a year away from the 2016 presidential election, but we’ve already seen huge fundraising numbers coming from Super PACs and outside groups.
The money election — where a few super-wealthy individuals and corporations use their clout to determine who can even afford to run for office — is in full swing, more than half a year before the first primary votes are cast.
The Supreme Court’s Citizens United has made this problem even worse — but we’ve got a solution that’s already working.
We want to amplify the voices of regular Americans with a system that matches small contributions to candidates who don’t take large or corporate contributions. This means candidates would be more likely to spend time trying to get the support of many, smaller contributors, instead of relying on mega-donors to bankroll their campaigns.
Help us give regular Americans the tools to reclaim our elections from Super PACs and mega-donors.
This system is already working in places like New York City, where in the 2013 city elections, more than two-thirds of all contributions from New York City residents were less than $175. [1]
Similar legislation has passed in Montgomery County, Maryland, and a small donor measure will be on the ballot this year in Seattle. But we need to get it in place at the national level.
Will you ask your representative to empower small donors in our elections?
Thanks,
Allison Cairo
TexPIRG
[1] “By The People: The New York City Campaign Finance Program in the 2013 Elections” New York City Campaign Finance Board