Funded by the People: What We Learned from D.C.’s Fair Elections Program

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) hosted the event, “Funded by the People: What We Learned from D.C.’s Fair Elections Program” on Oct. 19, 2021, about the launch of the Fair Elections Program in the District of Columbia in 2020, an innovative system of public campaign financing intended to fundamentally transform the District’s electoral process.

During the event, experts and advocates in public financing discussed CLC’s newly-released report, “Democratizing the District: DC’s Fair Elections Program in 2020,” which explored the benefits of the program for both candidates and voters and the ways it shaped D.C.’s most recent election. They also talked about solutions that could help implement public financing elsewhere.

Democracy works best when everyone can meaningfully participate. At a time when many Americans feel disconnected from elections dominated by super PACs, secret money, wealthy special interests and big donors, public financing systems like the District’s Fair Elections Program offer a viable solution for making everyday people the central focus of political campaigns.