Democracy Wire

In 2005, the Connecticut General Assembly, urged on by an intense grassroots advocacy effort, passed the first comprehensive public financing system for state elections in the nation. The kick off election cycle was 2008, and in that year and ever since, at least 74% of all candidates choose to participate in the system of public financing, called the Citizens’ Election Program. So, has public financing really made a difference? The answer is a resounding, YES! So why are state Democrats proposing to kill the program? That is completely unclear, but leadership has proposed cutting $11.7 million from the Citizens’ Election Fund, effectively wiping out Connecticut’s public financing program.

In a story in Politico today, money in politics journalist Ken Vogel revealed the Koch brothers’ secretive surveillance and intelligence team that is gathering information on their opponents through technology and on the ground sources.

It is time for the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission to encourage the state legislature to stop hyper-partisan, winner-take-all congressional map-making.

Last night’s Republican debate was the fifth presidential debate of the 2016 election season and the fifth debate that left out one of the most important issues voters face: the problem of big money in politics.

The 2016 Presidential candidates are talking more and more about the problem of money in politics, but leaving out what every voter needs to know: how they would fix it.

Organized people won a big victory over organized money today as President Obama announced he is rejecting the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline.