The Constituent Institute

Lawmaker toolkit · Democracy
No. 03 · October 2026

Money in Politics: the toolkit

Model provisions, a resolution your council or legislature can pass, and answers to every objection.

For candidates, legislators and their staff · Pair with the policy brief · Figures sourced in the notes

01Model provisions

The reforms below are drawn from laws already working in New York City and Seattle and from the For the People Act, which passed the House in 2021.8,9,14 The language is The Constituent Institute's model text, written plainly so it can be adapted to any legislature.

Small-donor matchModel · NYC model
Contributions of up to $250 from residents shall be matched with public funds at a rate of up to $8 for every $1 contributed, for candidates who agree to spending limits and public audits.

New York City's program matches $8 per $1 on the first $250 for citywide races and $175 for City Council.

Democracy vouchersModel · Seattle model
Each registered voter shall receive four vouchers worth $25 each per election cycle, to be assigned to participating candidates of the voter's choice.
Dark money disclosureModel
Any organization that spends more than $10,000 in an election cycle to influence an election shall disclose, within 48 hours, each donor who gave $1,000 or more, including the original source of funds passed through other organizations.
No corporate PAC or lobbyist moneyModel
No candidate for office shall accept a contribution from a political committee established or controlled by a corporation, or from a registered lobbyist.
A constitutional amendmentModel
Congress and the States may regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections.

Amendments of this kind have been introduced in several Congresses to overturn Citizens United.

Dollar thresholds in the disclosure provision are illustrative; set them to fit your jurisdiction. These provisions are model text, not quotations from an enacted law.

02Model resolution

City councils, county boards and state legislatures can call for reform and start it at home. Fill in your body, then copy the text.

Model text from The Constituent Institute. Free to adapt; no credit needed. Figures from notes 1, 3, 5, 9 and 11. Built in your browser; nothing you type is saved or sent.

03Answering objections

Five arguments you will hear, and the answer to each.

They say"Money is speech."

Speech is a right everyone has. Unlimited money is a megaphone only billionaires can buy, and it drowns out everyone else.

  • An individual can give a candidate $3,500 per election. There is no limit on gifts to a super PAC.12
  • 72% of Americans, including 71% of Republicans, say there should be limits on campaign spending.11
They say"Public financing wastes taxpayer money."

It costs far less than what big donors get back. Matching small gifts means candidates answer to voters instead of the people who write the biggest checks.

  • Seattle's vouchers produced about 350% more donors per race and 86% more candidates.9
  • Just 150 billionaire families put about $1.9 billion into 2024 federal races.4
They say"Disclosure chills free speech."

Voters have a right to know who is paying to change their minds. If a message is worth paying for, it is worth signing.

  • Of the record $1.9 billion in 2024 dark money, only about $43 million was reported directly to the FEC.3
They say"Both parties take big money."

That's exactly the point. This isn't about one party. It's about whether donors or voters run the government.

  • 80% of Americans say large donors have too much influence on what members of Congress decide.11
  • In the Gilens and Page study, average citizens had little independent influence on policy under both parties.6
They say"You can't win without the money."

More candidates are winning without it every cycle, and public financing makes it easier.

  • 73 members of the 118th Congress refused corporate PAC money, up from 56 in the 116th.10

04Lines that land

Short enough for a debate answer, a mailer or a post.

The last line is only for candidates who refuse corporate PAC and lobbyist money.

05Know the money

Outside groups spent a record $4.5 billion in 2024, more than half from groups that do not fully disclose their donors.2

Billionaire families: 150 of them put about $1.9 billion into 2024 federal campaigns by late October, about 72% to Republicans and 22% to Democrats.4

Lobbying set a record of $4.4 billion in 2024.15

When an ad runs in your district from a group with a patriotic name and no listed donors, say so out loud. Voters respond to being told who is trying to buy their vote.

Notes

  1. PBS NewsHour, the cost of the 2024 election (OpenSecrets)
  2. OpenSecrets, outside spending on 2024 elections shatters records, 2025
  3. Brennan Center for Justice, dark money hit a record $1.9 billion in 2024 federal races
  4. Americans for Tax Fairness, billionaire families' 2024 spending (interim tally)
  5. PolitiFact, what percent of Americans donate to political candidates
  6. Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 2014 (summary and full text link)
  7. HuffPost, call time and the DCCC model schedule, 2013
  8. New York City Campaign Finance Board, matching funds program
  9. University of Washington, Seattle democracy vouchers study, 2022
  10. Roll Call, no corporate PAC money pledges
  11. Pew Research Center, 7 facts about Americans' views of money in politics, 2023
  12. Federal Election Commission, contribution limits
  13. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
  14. Congress.gov, H.R. 1, For the People Act of 2021
  15. OpenSecrets, federal lobbying set a new record in 2024
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