Democracy Intern

The Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to an unprecedented degree of electoral spending on the local, state, and national levels. In 2012, the wealthiest donors invested hundreds of millions of dollars not only directly in candidate campaigns, but also third-party groups, such as super PAC’s and non-profits in an effort to influence the results of elections. In fact, the top 32 donors to super PAC’s in the 2012 election spent as much as every single small donor to Obama and Romney combined. This means 32 mega-donors spent the same amount to influence the 2012 elections as 3.7 million Americans This new unlimited money system minimizes modest contributions from ordinary citizens and undermines the principle of political equality by allowing those with greater wealth to translate their economic success into political power. In a democracy, the size of your wallet should not determine the volume of your voice. The grossly disproportionate spending on elections from a small part of the population not only undermines the political power of most Americans, it also distorts the priorities of candidates by making fund-raising from out-of-district big donors more important and securing the support of ordinary constituents less important. One of the key considerations for anyone contemplating throwing their hat into a race is whether they will be able to attract the wealthiest donors willing to provide the funds necessary to proceed. An unlimited money system forces candidates to spend time courting those wealthy individuals and interests, rather than thinking about the needs of their constituents. In the wake of Citizens United, and with the Supreme Court’s subsequent decision to further increase the clout of large donors and special interests in McCutcheon, it’s clear that we cannot dam the flood of big money in our elections overnight. Comprehensively addressing this problem will require a constitutional amendment to finally allow for common-sense limits on big contributions. We also have an opportunity to also push back against the tide of big money by strengthening the voice and participation of average Americans in our elections. Recent presidential campaigns have shown that small-dollar contributions can play a meaningful role even in the highest-stake political contests, but outside of the presidential arena, it’s often difficult for small-donor support to be competitive with big, out-of-district contributions. Creating programs to empower small donors and increase the percentage of the population making contributions is an important way to address this problem. A strong voluntary grassroots financing program can: - Encourage more ordinary Americans to make small contributions to candidates by reimbursing them through a refundable tax credit - Encourage candidates to seek out the funds they need to run from a broad swath of their constituents by matching small donations with public funds. Under such a system, candidates who appeal to their voters will be able to compete with candidates who only appeal to a small set of donors. The most viable candidates will then be the ones who spend the most time talking to the people they are being elected to represent, not those with the best connection to wealthy special interests and large corporations. Additionally, civic participation will increase as more Americans are empowered to make small contributions and incentivized to engage more deeply with elections. Such systems have already proven incredibly successful at diversifying and broadening the donor pool and aiding grassroots candidates in Minnesota and New York City. The result will be a healthier, more vibrant democracy where the voices and interests of ordinary Americans are amplified above the roar of special interest influence. The TexPIRG Democracy intern will work build grassroots support for the Government By the People Act across the state of Texas, moving key legislatures to support the Act and building public support among ordinary citizens through grassroots tactics like working with the media, building coalitions through coalition sign on letters and meeting with and lobbying city council members to pass local resolutions.