Voting Campaign Finance Reform: Arguments For and Against CFR Use these links to navigate the main sections of the Voting: Campaign Finance Reform section. Links for navigating the entire voting section, as well as the rest of the Law, Diversity and the Vote site are at the bottom of the page. Introduction, History & Change | PACs | Recent Reform Proposals Arguments For & Against Campaign Finance Reform YOU Vote! | Resources/Links for This Section Arguments For Campaign Finance Reform Skyrocketing costs of campaigns put candidates under pressure to raise funds, not focus on national issues. Interest groups trade their contributions for access to elected officials and may potentially influence critical legislative votes. Some groups and individuals have tremendous resources to influence public policy while others have none. An amendment to limit expenditures would help control the negative campaigns funded by independent PACs. An amendment to limit expenditures would also keep the wealthy from dominating politics and help restore the average citizen’s trust in the system. The large sums of money spent make average voters feel disconnected from the political process and contribute to low-voter turnouts. Arguments Against Campaign Finance Reform People have a right to contribute as individuals or as a group to political parties which share their concerns and reflect their beliefs. Actions that limit the ability of candidates and citizens to publicly express their opinions are inherently dangerous to freedoms. Empirical studies show that PAC contributions rarely buy elections, much less the votes of incumbents once in office. Because soft money, under present arrangements, goes to parties, not candidates, there is little possibility of the kind of quid-pro-quo corruption that alone justifies limits. The best thing to do in a pluralistic society with a myriad of different interests is to encourage groups of all kinds to become involved in the political process through contributions and other ways. We should encourage the development of more interest groups because the more points of view that are represented, the better the chance that every citizen will feel his or her voice is heard. Additional limits will help incumbents maintain their positions and hurt challengers. It is not a good idea to get into the practice of amending the Constitution to overturn decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. >>Youth Citizenship >>Voter Registration >>Representation >>Campaign Reform Conversation | *Voting* | Activities | Resources Online Conversations | Law, Diversity, and the Vote