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 HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL FROM DEMOCRACY MATTERS CAMPUS HIGHLIGHT Harvard UniversityDemocracy Matters at Harvard is meeting with Massachusetts legislators, urging them to create a public campaign financing voucher** system. DM leader Eamon O’Cearuil explains: “Democracy vouchers are a critical solution to our failing democracy. The United States’ political system is ruled by money — wealthy donors dictate our policies, ordinary peoples’ interests are neglected, and democracy loses. Vouchers enable citizens and democracy to have a fighting chance.” Other DM chapters are also lobbying newly elected reps in Congress, state legislatures and cities. DMers are advocating a pro-democracy agenda – reducing the power of big money in elections, ending gerrymandering, passing same-day and automatic registration, and more…. **See “Facts You Can Use” (below) for more information on voucher systems.  BIG MONEY OUT!Americans overwhelmingly voted for democracy last month! They denied Trump’s deniers, and passed ballot initiatives curbing the political power of mega-donors. In Portland Maine, voters created a public funding** program for city candidates, barred corporate contributions, and required greater transparency of campaign contributions.Voters in Oakland California established a “Democracy Dollars” program that provides every city resident with $100 in vouchers to donate to local candidates of their choice.In Arizona, voters approved a measure shedding light on dark money by requiring disclosure of big donors to political committees.** See “Facts You Can Use “(below) to learn about public campaign financing. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/4-takeaways-about-money-midterms QUOTES OF THE MONTH “Organizations mobilizing young people year round are key to youth voter turnout. Alice Kiesa, CIRCLE, Tufts Univ. “Gen Z is a formidable voting bloc that demands to be heard.” Setti Warren, Institute of Politics, Harvard Univ. https://circle.tufts.edu/ ; https://iop.harvard.edu/fall-2022-harvard-youth-poll IDEAS OF THE MONTH DM students are returning to their high schools to talk about voting and democracy. During winter break, they arrange with high school teachers to speak in history, government, social science and other classes. In discussions about the 2022 election, the importance of voting and the need to strengthen democracy, DMers educate and engage high schoolers. And they also jump-start new DM “High School Leaders” clubs as well. .  MONEY & MAGAThe torrent of right-wing donor money since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has empowered the Trump MAGA hegemony and blocked climate change reform. Mandle looks at the numbers and argues that public funding should counter the political dominance of the ultra-rich. https://www.democracymatters.org/money_on_my_mind/4662 FACTS YOU CAN USE With 2022 election spending reaching over $9 billion for Congressional races and $7 billion for state offices, more public campaign financing systems are needed to build a fair and inclusive democracy. Today over 30 states, counties and cities have robust public campaign financing programs. They provide public funds to qualified candidates who volunteer to run for office without depending on big donors in finance, pharmaceuticals, real estate, energy, defense etc. Candidates without deep pockets or ties to wealthy donors can run for office. Matching Small Donations programs are in places such as New York State, Hawaii, Montgomery County MD, Albuquerque NM, Boulder CO, Washington DC, Portland OR and Austin TX. For every dollar that publicly-financed candidates raise from residents, they receive matching funds of between $1 and $8 to help fund their campaigns. Publicly-funded candidates can depend on small contributors rather than on mega-donors. Voucher Systems in Seattle WA and Oakland CA provide residents with $100 in vouchers to donate to their candidates of choice. Candidates can depend on citizen vouchers rather than big donors to fund their campaigns. Grant Programs in states including Connecticut, Maine and Arizona offer publicly-financed candidates one-time grants to offset their campaign expenses. https://campaignlegal.org/democracyu/inclusion/public-financing-elections |