The Facts

“We already pay for congressional campaigns, we just label it ‘the national debt.’ Interests that donate to campaigns often get what they want from legislation, and we all pay for that; by comparison, public financing seems like a bargain.”
- Lee Hamilton
Former Congressman from Indiana
ACR Advisory Board Member

Fair Elections Now Act Fact Sheet

Download this fact sheet as a PDF

A Small Donor Approach to Congressional Campaign Finance

Fair Elections Provisions

Candidate Qualifying and Seed Money
Candidates seeking to participate in Fair Elections collect a set number of qualifying contributions of $5-$100 each from their constituents plus a baseline of $50,000 or more in total contributions. Contributions provide seed money to jump-start the candidate’s campaign and are limited to residents of the candidate’s home state.
Primary Funding
Qualifying candidates receive a Fair Elections start-up grant to launch their campaign and additional matching funds of $5 for every $1 raised from their constituents in contributions up to $100 each. Matching funds are capped at a competitive spending threshold, consistent with historic spending levels and media market costs. Qualifying candidates may raise additional unmatched contributions up to $100 each on an unlimited basis.
General Election Funding
Participating candidates who win their party’s nomination are eligible to receive competitive public matching funds in the general election, supplemented by $5-to-$1 public matching funds on in-state donations of up to $100 each. A competitive spending limit on public funds is observed. Qualifying candidates may raise additional unmatched contributions up to $100 each on an unlimited basis.
Discounted Airtime and Public Debates
Participating candidates are eligible to receive discounted media rates for campaign communications in the run-up to the primary and general election campaigns. Media vouchers are also provided to participating nominated candidates for use in the general election. Candidates agree to take part in public debates.
Administration and Review
An independent office of the FEC will be charged with administering and updating the program. A five member board of Presidential appointees will lead the office, with four members recommended by House and Senate party leaders and the fifth member by consensus of the original four. Qualifying requirements and funding levels will be subject to review and amendment after each election to ensure viability over time.

Funding Fair Elections

Cost Estimate
The estimated cost of the Fair Elections program for House and Senate elections is $700-$900 million per year, depending on the level of candidate participation.
Funding Mechanism
The Senate bill calls for funding from a 0.5% surcharge on government contracts in excess of $10 million. The House bill calls for funding from of the proceeds of broadcast spectrum auctions.

Provision	House	Senate
Contribution Limit (indivs.)	$100 primary $100 general	$100 primary $100 general
Qualifying Contributions	1,500 in-state totaling $50,000	2,000 + 500 per CD in-state totaling $50,000 +10% of primary grant
Primary Funding (est.)	$420,000 grant + 5:1 matching funds	Base $500,000 grant + $100,000 per CD + 5:1 matching funds
General Funding (est.)	$630,000 grant + 5:1 match funds	Base $750,000 grant + $250,000 per CD + 5:1 matching funds
Public Spending Limits (est.)	$1.05 million grants; match up to $3.15 million (incl. small donations)	$1.25 million + $350,000 per CD grant; match up to 300% of grant

Average Contrib	In-state Contribs*	Primary Funding	General Funding	Total Funding
$35	1,500	$787,500	$1 million	$1.79 million
$50	1,500	$945,000	$1.16 million	$2.10 million
$75	1,500	$1.21 million	$1.42 million	$2.63 million