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Explore the issue of campaign finance and its implications on elections. Should there be limits on contributions? Should parties disclose their sources of funding? Compare campaign finance regulations in the United States and the UK.
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2 March, 2010 Campaign Finance
Campaign Money • A good candidate and a good message are not enough. Without money, the voters do not see the candidate or hear the message. • In contemporary candidate-centered campaigns, candidates (as opposed to the party organizations) must assemble their own campaign teams, raise their own money, hire consultants and technical specialists, and design and execute their own individual campaign strategies. • Recent elections reflect the rise in cost.
The Rising Cost of Campaigns See opensecrets.org
Should Campaign Finances be Regulated? • Should parties and candidates receive public money? • If not, should there be limits on the amount of the contributions? • If so, what implications does that have for the electoral process? • Should parties and candidates be required to disclose the sources of their contributions?
Regulating Campaign Money in the United States • Taxpayers partially finance presidential campaigns, but most of the money spent on congressional elections comes from private sources. • But money is distributed very unequally, thus its role in electoral politics threatens democratic equality and raises the suspicion that elected officials will serve as the agents of their contributors rather than their constituents.
Efforts to Regulate Campaign Money • As campaigns became more candidate-centered and broadcast campaigning became the standard, costs increased the demand for money, but many began to fear that winners would favor contributors over constituents. • The legal response to this situation was the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
Efforts to Regulate Campaign Money • Prior to the 1970s campaign money was effectively unregulated. • Congress had passed some limits on contributions and spending. • The Corrupt Practices Act of 1925, which placed unrealistically low limits on spending in congressional elections, was in force for more than four decades, but no one was prosecuted under the act.
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) • Required candidates running for political office disclose an itemized accounting of all expenditures and donations of more than $100.
FECA 1974 • Instituted a system for public financing of presidential elections. • Limited individuals to $1,000 and $5,000 for groups. Created political action committees (PACs) • Spending limits were also set for congressional races
Legal Challenges • In Buckley v. Valeo (1976) the Supreme Court upheld the reporting requirements and contribution limits, but rejected spending limits on the grounds that they interfered with political speech. • Also rules that individuals could spend unlimited amounts of money on the election or defeat a candidate as long as those expenditures were not coordinated with the candidate or party campaigns. • Candidate self-financing-the “millionaire’s exception”.
Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission (2010) • Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that corporations have the same speech rights enjoyed by people • The Mcain-Feingold Act banned corporations and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications” in the 30 days before a presidential primary and 60 days prior to a general election • The court’s decision strikes down this law and means that spending by corporations cannot be regulated. • A survey conducted after the decision indicated that 80 percent opposed the decision with little difference between Republicans and Democrats
Campaign Finance in the UK • Broadcast media provide free time to parties for political advertising • Private TV companies are forbidden to charge money for advertising political parties and other political organisations • Cost of campaigns, while increasing, is not as high as in the US.
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (2000) • Established the Electoral Commission which overseas the use of advertising in elections. • Act specifies that gifts to parties in excess of £5,000 nationally and £1,000 locally are now publically declared • Anonymous donations of more than £200 are prohibited • The Act also limited campaign spending at national level in general elections. The ceiling was set at £30,000 per constituency, so if a party contested all 641 seats, the ceiling would be £19,230,000.
