Imagine an issue that 94 percent of Americans agree on. I realize it's hard - It's been hard to get past red versus blue these last few years, particularly since November. The things that divide us have been receiving so much attention that it is almost impossible to imagine what might unite us all.
So let me tell you: 94 percent of Americans believe that "big campaign contributions affect government decisions."
Now, that may seem pretty basic; "affect" isn't a very strong verb. Yet two-thirds even think the problem is so severe that "big contributors to political parties sometimes block decisions by the federal government that could improve people's everyday lives." That's more than affecting. That is setting the course. The fact that two-thirds of Americans believe private interests override the public interest is something politicians ought to leap into action over. How often do they have the chance to make two-thirds of their constituents happy?
Well, Rhode Island legislators will soon have their chance to unite us instead of dividing us. Their chance came recently in the form of a Clean Elections Act proposing full public financing for all Rhode Island candidates. Like similar systems operating in Maine and Arizona, it would give candidates the option (which they can choose to reject) of foregoing traditional fundraising methods and instead funding their campaign through public money. If they face traditionally funded candidates, it will even provide extra money if they are outspent. It gives them the freedom to do their job - serving constituents and working on the issues - instead of playing the money game where fundraising is a daily concern. As one Arizona candidate said, "to be elected to the state legislature and not feel beholden to anyone except constituents is a liberating feeling." And evidence suggests that quitting the money game will help bring citizens back into politics.
I've spent the last eight months studying public financing's effects on political participation for my political science thesis. I performed a statistical analysis of 1,050 election results in all 50 states from 1964 to 2004 to determine how public financing might affect voter turnout. I controlled, of course, for the effects that socioeconomic status and age have in increasing one's likelihood of voting as they rise. I also controlled for the fact that Southern states generally have lower turnout, and for the varying cultural emphasis on participation from state to state.
From 1964 to 2004, states with public financing available generally had 2.5 percent higher voter turnout. My study looked only at general elections - the effect may be much stronger in primary elections.
More significantly, public financing convinces individuals to run for office. In 350 elections from 1992 to 2004, public financing reduced the number of state legislature elections with only one candidate by 11 percent, according to my study.
As we all know, having one candidate to choose from is no democracy and no election. Yet one-half of Rhode Island's legislative races went uncontested from 1992 to 2004. We are miserably behind the national average, particularly for a Northern state. One-half of Rhode Islanders did not have a choice when it came to who would represent them at the State House. Our current legislators ought to support public financing because their constituents deserve a choice.
Why should the public fund political campaigns? We fund our police and fire departments publicly because we believe that protection ought to be offered to all citizens, regardless of race, age, ethnicity, gender or ability to pay. Our legislators need to free themselves from the pressures to do anything less.
Now, we can't fool ourselves into thinking that every legislator will vote for public financing simply because it is good for democracy. The truth, which they are bound to see, is that it could also negatively affect their political careers. It's hard to say who that extra 2.5 percent of voters will be voting for, and incumbents certainly don't want to hear about increased electoral competition.
This is precisely why the public must make their voices heard on the issue. Show your support for the bill by attending the hearing of the bill at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, April 26, at 4:30 p.m. - e-mail Taylor@brown.edu for more information. Visit www.cleanelectionsri.org and come to the Sarah Doyle Women's Center tonight at 9 p.m. to get more involved. Call and write your representatives and tell them to support public financing and an improvement to Rhode Island democracy. The true measure of every politician as a public servant, after all, is whether they will support something bigger than their own interests. When they entered politics, that was their intent. Now this is their chance to prove it.
Rob Sand '05.5 done got honors.
