Sunday, August 29, 2010
Democracy Matters - Change Elections. Change America
Democracy Matters, a non-partisan campus-based partner organization with Common Cause, works to get big private money out of politics and people back in. Offering paid internships to undergraduates and affiliate internships to high school students, Democracy Matters mentors the next generation of leaders dedicated to strengthening our democracy. Students organize actions and projects connecting pro-democracy reforms to issues of environment, civil rights, education, health care, foreign policy, and more.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why we Need Reform
ReplyDeleteBy Joan Mandle
I. The lifeblood of our democracy is under threat.
Democracy is above all a process of citizen participation, with government accountable to the people. But it is precisely that necessary participation and accountability that have been weakened and eroded by big contributors who dominate the private financing of campaigns.
•Voter turnout for elections is far lower than in most other democracies. A turnout rate of only around 50% is typical, even for high-profile races.
•Cynicism about politics and government is rampant as people see: a) the influence of big contributors on laws and policy and b) the corruption scandals involving campaign contributions.
•The cost of running for office continues to escalate. Few citizens can afford the huge cost of running for office at any level of government.
•Uncontested and non-competitive elections have increased in frequency, with a re-election rate of incumbents that tops 90% in both federal and state races. Incumbents regularly out-spend challengers by margins of 4 to 1.
•In 2010, the Supreme Court reversed a 100 year-old ban on corporate and union expenditures on political speech, unleashing unlimited spending from these sources. The “Citizen’s United” decision has worsened the dominance of corporate influence in our democracy.
•The number of bright young people who want to spend their lives in politics or government service has declined as the price of participation has risen.
•Fewer than 1% of Americans contribute the vast majority of private money going to fund campaigns.
•Too many politicians are forced to spend up to 20 hours a week raising money rather than solving our country’s pressing problems.
•National polling has consistently shown that large majorities of the American people.
•Polls also showed that over 2/3 of voters say we need changes to the way elections are financed.
For more information go to www.fairelectionsnow.org