Voter-owned Iowa - Clean Elections: Sign The Petition

Working towards clean elections, or special-interest-free elections, in Iowa is something I hope DFIA can apply itself to after November.  The system has been implemented in both Arizona and Maine and is working well there, although conservatives in Arizona are already trying to submarine the whole thing (see article below).

According to the Voter-owned Iowa website, clean elections consist of the following:

Voter-Owned Elections is a voluntary system for state elections which provides qualifying candidates - those who collect a set amount of signatures and $5 donations from within their district - with a set amount of money from a public source if they promise to refuse money from all other sources. Voter-Owned Elections is known as “Clean Elections” in several states.

The Voter-Owned System:

--Is voluntary.

--Is nonpartisan.

--Provides an alternative to the current system’s reliance on special interest money and wealthy contributors.

--Offers candidates who choose to run “voter-owned” a limited but competitive amount of money.

--Frees candidates from the money chase so that they can spend time discussing the issues with constituents and developing relationships with voters.

The mission of Voter-Owned Iowa is to empower and unite grassroots Iowans to address the corrupting influence of big money on our democracy; balance the political playing field to give all people access to the political process; and return democracy to the hands of the people.

Sign The Voter-owned Iowa Petition

Go here to sign the Voter-owned Iowa petition online.

The Patriot Amendment: Conservatives Attempt To Kill Clean Elections in Arizona

Molly Ivins, AxisOfLogic.com

. . . This is what's happening in Arizona, where the successful Clean Elections law is now under attack by the big special interests and national conservatives with ties that run from Tom DeLay (surprise!) to Bush's fund-raising machine.

Micah Sifry of Public Campaign reports, "They've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that doesn't mention anywhere its true intent, to de-fund the Clean Elections system." This charming endeavor is masquerading under the misnomer "No Taxpayer Money for Politicians," a misleading moniker right up there with Bush's "Clear Skies and Healthy Forests" initiatives. What a shame they couldn't figure out a way to call it the Patriot Amendment.

The bad news for the bad guys is that evidence continues to accumulate that Clean Elections work -- they are actually reviving democracy. In Arizona and Maine, where Clean Elections have been in effect for a couple of years, more candidates are running and competitiveness has increased. According to a study done by political scientists at the University of Wisconsin in May of this year: "There is no question that public funding programs have increased the pool of candidates willing and able to run for state legislative office. This effect is most pronounced for challengers, who are far more likely than incumbents to accept public funding. In Arizona, the likelihood that an incumbent will have a competitive race more than doubled from 22 percent of all races in 1998 to 45 percent in 2002."

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