Baltimore City Fair Election Fund

Fight big money!

Baltimore City voted overwhelmingly in favor of Question H to create a Fair Election Fund. Now we must ensure the Mayor and City Council move quickly to finalize the program.

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Baltimore City voted overwhelmingly in favor of Question H to create a Fair Election Fund. Now we must ensure the Mayor and City Council move quickly to finalize the program.

WHY WE NEED IT

Baltimore’s democracy has long been dominated by a powerful donor class that has more say than everyday people. They are more likely to be wealthy, white, and male, and have different political views than the rest of the population.

As the donor class drives elections and public policy, our democracy is thrown out of whack, and people of color, women, low income folks, young people, and immigrants are left out.

HOW IT WORKS

Keep big money out.
Participating candidates can only accept donations of $150 or less and cannot take checks from corporations or PACs. Candidates remain accessible and accountable to their citizen base.
 
Expand opportunities to run for office.
People from all backgrounds can run for office based on the strength of their ideas, not access to wealth, which helps to build a diverse and representative city government. 
 
Give everyone a voice.
By matching small contributions on a sliding-scale the fund will elevate the voices of the smallest donors, so all Baltimoreans, regardless of race, gender, or income have equal opportunity to participate in elections.
 
Encourage more participation.
We can encourage more Baltimoreans to participate in our elections by providing limited matching funds for small campaign contributions from Baltimore City residents.