In Iowa, bills creating Public Financing of Elections are working their way through the state legislature. SF 553 has made it out of the Senate State Government Committee and is now in Appropriations. The bill, nicknamed VOICE (Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections), is based on the Arizona and Maine Clean Elections laws. Candidates collect a specified amount of five dollar contributions in order to receive full public financing of their campaigns. Candidates who opt this route will not have to whore for money or be beholden to special interests who would otherwise fund them in exchange for favors. In Wisconsin, a similar bill has been proposed by Pocan and Risser, that does the same thing. It establishes a number of five dollar contributions per office in order to receive full public financing. Interesting thing about the Iowa bill though: If you are a candidate from a "qualified political party" that received less than 20% of the vote in the last primary or general election, you are ineligible for public financing.

Labels: campaign finance