The Fair Elections Now Act

The Fair Elections Now Act would help restore public confidence in the Congressional election process by providing qualified candidates for Congress with grants, matching funds, and vouchers from the Fair Elections Fund to replace campaign fundraising that largely relies on large donors and special interests. In return, participating candidates would agree to limit their campaign spending to the amounts raised from small dollar donors plus the amounts provided from the Fund.

This voluntary alternative would free participating candidates from the incessant, time-consuming money chase that has tainted public perceptions of elected officials and that has fostered abuses that can undermine our democracy. Candidates could instead devote their time to effectively representing their constituents and to solving our nation’s critical problems.

The Fair Elections Now Act amends the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1971 to establish a voluntary method for financing Senate campaigns. Fair Elections are composed of three stages:

• To participate, candidates would first need to prove their viability by raising a minimum number and amount of small-dollar qualifying contributions from in-state donors. Once a candidate qualifies, that candidate must limit the amount raised from each donor to $100 per election.
   
• For the primary, participants would receive a base grant that would vary in amount based on the population of the state that the candidate seeks to represent. Participants would also receive a 5-to-1 match for small dollar donations up to a defined matching cap. The candidate could raise an unlimited amount of $100 contributions if needed to compete against high-spending opponents.
   
• For the general election, qualified candidates would receive an additional grant, further small-dollar matching, and vouchers for purchasing television advertising. The candidate could continue to raise an unlimited amount of $100 contributions if needed.

Special rules would apply for runoff and uncontested elections. Participating candidates would receive enough funding to compete in every election, without having to spend most of their time raising money.

At this critical moment in our nation’s history, our elected leaders in Washington must dedicate every available moment towards solving our nation’s challenges. Our leaders must have the trust of the American people that their decisions will benefit all Americans, not just the wealthy. Fair Elections would allow our leaders to focus on finding solutions to the challenges that all Americans face.