Campaign finance plays a central role in the democratic process. Elections can’t happen without campaigns, and — to state the obvious — running a campaign costs money. Lots of it. (Political campaigns at the state and federal levels have become much more expensive in recent years.) So where does all the money come from? It may be a daunting question, but it’s an important one to ask in our effort to become more informed citizens. The collection of laws that govern how campaigns are funded is often referred to as the campaign finance system. But in truth, “system” may be a bit of a misnomer — at least if “system”…

During election season, political advertisements seem to be everywhere we look. Though some of us may feel a fervent desire to ignore them, it’s not possible to completely escape their reach. Nor should we tune them out entirely, since they present opportunities to learn about candidates and hold our elected officials accountable. Political ads are clearly designed to influence us in a specific way (usually to convince us to vote for or against a certain candidate). The questions we should ask ourselves about the ads we see or hear include: Who is trying to influence us? (i.e., Who paid for this ad?) and, What is their objective? (i.e., What are…

We have recently explored several of the core issues surrounding campaign finance that undermine accountability and transparency in our elections. After learning about (i) the disproportionate impact of very wealthy Americans on policy outcomes, (ii) the Citizens United case and consequent rise of super PACs and dark money, and (iii) the challenges with regulating online political ads, it is easy to be disheartened and feel pessimistic about the possibility of change.  But the truth is, many Americans of diverse political ideologies support campaign finance reforms. If we work together, small acts of advocacy could go a long way in encouraging elected officials to make change happen. In this final piece, we’ll…