Money and Elections in Iowa

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement has recently finished the second part of their study on the influence of money in elections in Iowa.

Phase II of our "Money and Elections in Iowa" study has been completed by Dr. Arthur Sanders. Dr. Sanders is the head of Drake University's Political Science and International Relations department and a national campaign finance reforem expert.

Phase II examines the roll of money in Iowa's legislative process. Specificially, Dr. Sanders looked at how health care policy decisions at the State Capitol may have been influenced by campaign contributions in the 2006 legislative sesson. He concludes that:

* Money is, indeed, increasing in importance in Iowa's democratic process.

* As campaigns continue to grow more expensive, everyday Iowans without access to big money contributions will be cut out of the democratic process.

* And, those who are able to provide large contributions will secure more access to our elected officials.

"Is it as bad as the worst critic things? No. But we are headed in that direction," said Sanders.

In his executive summary he writes, "the rising costs of campaigns are likely to increase the influence of money in both the electoral and policy arenas." To prevent this from happening he recommended three courses of action including that Iowa adopt Voter-Owned Elections; a system of voluntary public financing currently being used in Maine, Arizona, and other states around the country.

CCI members believe that Voter-Owned Elections (a.k.a. Clean Elections) will restore balance to our elections and allow for more everyday iowans to particpate in the democratic process. Maine and Arizona have both seen an increase in voter turnout, contested races, and overall citizen involvement since adopting the system.

To learn more, visit our site dedicated to Voter-owned Elections at http://www.voterownediowa.org.

Read the study:
Click here to download Phase II as a Microsoft Word document
Click here to download Phase II as a Pdf document

To read Phase I of the study, click here.