State Democracy Project

Programs: Support campaign finance reform on a national level: we use multiple strategies to engage the broad public in addressing the need for systemic campaign finance reform. We identify challenges facing policy makers and members of the public interested in making the campaign finance system more inclusive and respond by offering analysis, sharing our experiences, and by conducting careful research and disseminating our findings and analysis widely. In 2017, public interest in the influence of big money on politics was significant, garnering lots of media attention. Our experts were quoted or our reports cited at least 120 times by media outlets npr, american prospect, the washington times, fox news, cnn, and the associated press. Whenever possible, we linked that coverage with constructive commentary about solutions to the political inequality created by the current campaign finance system. Over the course of the year, our communications efforts clarified the relationship between campaign finance policies and a host of public policy concerns, including health care, income tax reform, infrastructure spending, government ethics, election law, voting rights, and first amendment jurisprudence.

educate the public about campaign finance reform at the state and local levels: every voice center pursues its mission through outreach and collaboration with individuals and organizations, at the local and state levels, who share our commitment to advance practical solutions to money-and-politics problems in their communities. We help them to identify and analyze the impact of relationships between campaign donors and policy making in their contexts. We also link their concerns with the national conversation about the issue and introduce them to national policy advocates, media makers, and prospective funders. We supported several state and local partners efforts to understand how small donor democracy policies work, especially in their jurisdictions, through several activities: - we, along with our local partners in seattle monitored, evaluated, and reported on the first use of the citys new democracy voucher system. We produced and widely disseminated a preliminary report after the november election called first look (http://honestelectionsseattle. Org/2017-report/) so that the community and the country as a whole could assess the new systems benefits for democracy. This report produced significant media coverage, exemplified by a report in the seattle times (https://www. Seattletimes. Com/seattle-news/data/ do-seattlesdemocracy-vouchers-work-new-analysis- says-yes). - we refined and updated our public financing policy manual designed for use by everyday people who want to explore reform alternatives. - facilitated exploration of money-in-politics reform policy scenarios and implementation challenges with citizen groups in california, connecticut, the district of columbia, florida, maine, maryland, new mexico, oregon, and philadelphia, among others. - worked with partners to educate journalists and news outlets in their areas, generating at least 50 stories in local and regional media during 2017. - we helped several community-based organizations research the relevance of money in politics to achieving racial equity in the context of debates about public policy ranging from minimum wage to payday lending.

educate influential public figures about campaign finance reform by providing reliable, reputable research and information: we collect, analyze and disseminate non-partisan information about campaign finance abuses and possibilities for reform. Outreach activities include sponsorship of news-making educational activities and events, promoting stories to media outlets, thoughtful commentary in editorial pages, and advertising. We pay particular attention to sharing our analysis and findings with opinion leaders including members of congress, key administration officials, nonprofit leaders, and prominent journalists. Over the course of the calendar year, members of our communications team briefed dozens of reporters and issued numerous press releases. In addition, our policy experts helped the leaders of numerous major national organizations, ranging from labor unions to civil rights consortia, to understand the relative merits of various money-in-politics remedies. Members of our team also routinely led or contributed to nonpartisan briefings for leaders of the philanthropic and advocacy communities on both state and national developments. Our "daily clips" weekday digest of news stories relevant to those who follow money-in-politics developments reached hundreds of "influentials," including reporters, pundits, editors, and producers who cover money in politics. Our research team also produced several reports in collaboration with national membership organizations including the restaurant opportunities center and new york communities for change.