The Assembly Committee on Elections and Campaign Reform held a public hearing Thursday morning to address the need for campaign finance reform.
Committee Chair Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Eau Claire, said the aim of the hearing was to discuss adjustments of campaign finance programs in Wisconsin.
“The perception of the public is that it’s a tainted system, and that’s why we’re here,” Smith said.
Similarly, Rep. Jim Soletski, D-Green Bay, said the state needs campaign finance reform in order to ensure clean and fair elections.
The need for this reform, according to Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Mike McCabe, stems from the overwhelming financial support candidates receive from public interest groups, such as businesses.
“People have lost their faith that their voice really matters because it’s drowned out by all the lobbyists and special interest groups and the big campaign donors,” McCabe said.
He also cited the need for partial or full public financing of campaigns. He estimates the election system costs between $4 and $12 million per year, and with the estimated 3.9 million taxpaying residents, McCabe said $1 to $3 from each taxpayer each year must be designated to publicly-funded election campaigns.
Rep. Jim Ott, R-Mequon, agreed financial support for campaigns should not come from large interest groups.
“My contributions come from small contributors, from individuals who do so voluntarily,” Ott said. “I’ve never had a vote influenced by a special interest group.”
However, Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Hartford, said campaign finance reform is unnecessary because the problem does not lie in campaign financing but in government spending, and reform should therefore come from other areas in the government.
“The government has been spending beyond its means and creating programs that financially affect all these special interests,” Pridemore said. “If we were less involved in determining their financial condition, they would be less inclined to try to sway elections.”
However, according to Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts, D-Middleton, the amount of money required to run for office limits the number of people willing to run.
“We’re not seeing enough good quality candidates running simply because of the fact that they have to work so hard to raise money,” Pope-Roberts said. “It’s overwhelming when you realize how hard you have to work and how much of a fundraiser you become and what backseat position being a legislator takes … because you’re all about raising money.”
In order to combat this large amount of funds required to run, Andrea Kaminski, spokesperson for the Wisconsin League of Women Voters, said she suggests certain legislative actions such as increasing the amount of the check-off on the tax forms from $1 to $5, as well as lowering the primary vote limit from the current 6 percent.
Pope-Roberts added spending limits also need to be established.
However, Pridemore said he is not so sure these legislative actions will be effective.
“This is going to be a difficult area to legally restrict,” he said.
Still, McCabe urged legislators to fix the current system.
“You can create a system of voter-owned elections that puts citizens back in the driver’s seat,” McCabe said. “That makes people matter more than money and politics.”
