Fair Elections Now Act

League of Women Voters^®
of Boulder County

In March 2009 the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 752 and H.R. 1826) was introduced in the Senate by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and in the House of Representatives by Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Walter Jones, Jr. (R-N.C.). The bill would allow candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to run for office without relying on large contributions, big money bundlers, and donations from lobbyists. Candidates would be freed from constant fundraising.
In order to qualify for Fair Elections funding candidates would raise a large number of small contributions from their communities.
Contributions are limited to $100. Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives would have to collect at least 1500 contributions from people in their district and raise a total of $50,000 in order to qualify. For U.S. Senate Candidates, the minimum number of required contributions equals 2000 plus 500 times the number of congressional districts in the state. The total contributions for Senate candidates must equal at least 10% of the Fair Elections funding for the primary. A Colorado Senate Candidate's minimum would be 5500 contributions, and the amount raised at least $120,000.
Qualified candidates would receive Fair Elections funding in the primary, and if they win, in their general election at a level to run a competitive campaign.
Qualified House candidates receive $900,000 in Fair Elections funding split 40% for the primary and 60% for the general. Qualified Senate candidates receive $1.25 million plus another $250,000 per congressional district in their state. The funding is split 40% for the primary and 60% for the general election.
Qualified candidates would also be eligible to receive matching Fair Elections funds if they continued to raise small donations from within their state.
Donations of $100 or less, beyond the number of donations required for qualification, from in-state contributors would be matched from the Fair Elections Fund at a rate of four to one. The maximum Fair Elections funds a candidate can receive is limited to three times the initial allocation for the primary and again for the general election.
Fair Elections helps offset the high cost of media.
Participating candidates receive a 20% reduction from the lowest broadcast rates. In addition participating Senate candidates who win their primaries are eligible to receive $100,000 in media vouchers per congressional district in their state; House candidates are eligible to receive one $100,000 media voucher. Participating candidates may also exchange their media vouchers for cash with their national political party committee.
The cost of Fair Elections for Senate races would be paid for by a small fee on large government contracts. The cost for House races would come from 10% of the revenues generated through the auction of unused broadcast spectrum.
As of 9/12/2010 the Fair Elections Now Act has 160 cosponsors in the House and 24 cosponsors in the Senate. Go to Updated Cosponsor Numbers and type in "Fair Elections Now Act" to get an updated number of cosponsors.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: February 22, 2012 13:46 PST.