{"id":751,"date":"2011-04-06T15:00:28","date_gmt":"2011-04-06T19:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www3.law.harvard.edu\/journals\/hlpr\/?p=751"},"modified":"2015-10-02T15:58:05","modified_gmt":"2015-10-02T15:58:05","slug":"one-person-one-vote-one-donation-part-1-can-campaign-finance-be-democratic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/lpr\/2011\/04\/06\/one-person-one-vote-one-donation-part-1-can-campaign-finance-be-democratic\/","title":{"rendered":"One Person, One Vote, One Donation, Part 1: Can Campaign Finance Be Democratic?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: inherit\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">\u00a0<\/span>Jake Laperruque<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit\">At a time when campaign finance law is\u00a0<a style=\"font-style: inherit;color: #3f6dcf\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110914083918\/http:\/\/hlpronline.com\/2011\/03\/campaign-finance-at-the-brink\/\">at risk of being abolished<\/a>, how can we ensure that our elections continue to be free and fair for all Americans? \u00a0The Obama campaign\u2019s fundraising strategy presents one possible option.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit\">On Monday, President Obama officially launched his reelection campaign.\u00a0 Rather than make the announcement through a\u00a0<a style=\"font-style: inherit;color: #3f6dcf\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110914083918\/http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gdJ7Ad15WCA\">high-profile speech<\/a>, Obama went to new media, putting up a sleek, simple website that features a YouTube video of supporters and encourages visitors to post the link on their friends\u2019 Facebook wall.\u00a0 The style of the announcement was a reflection of both the campaign\u2019s grassroots focus, and the growing influence of Internet technologies on elections.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit\">However, even as free social media sources become the principal means by which campaigns reach out to voters, traditional media and money are more important than ever.\u00a0 A major news story following the announcement was the projection that the Obama campaign would\u00a0<a style=\"font-style: inherit;color: #3f6dcf\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110914083918\/http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2011\/04\/04\/us-usa-election-obama-analysis-idUSTRE7330NY20110404\">raise a billion dollars<\/a>.\u00a0 In fact, the need to meet this unprecedented fundraising goal is likely\u00a0<a style=\"font-style: inherit;color: #3f6dcf\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110914083918\/http:\/\/articles.cnn.com\/2011-04-04\/politics\/obama.announcement.analysis_1_bundlers-campaign-team-president-obama?_s=PM:POLITICS\">why the campaign is starting now<\/a>.\u00a0 The importance of cash is reflected on the sleek website, which currently doesn\u2019t include any policy positions, but does have a full\u00a0<a style=\"font-style: inherit;color: #3f6dcf\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110914083918\/http:\/\/www.barackobama.com\/store\">campaign store<\/a>\u00a0up and running.\u00a0 It even offers a free t-shirt to anyone who donates $30 (which doesn\u2019t seem to be a much better deal than just buying the shirt from the campaign store).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit\">However, in spite of this stockpiling of funds, Obama continues to be seen as a force for campaign finance reform.\u00a0 This is largely a result of his campaign\u2019s success in labeling itself as funded by a mass of small dollar donors.\u00a0 This technique is one of the most promising means to keep elections funded in a fair and democratic matter.\u00a0 By building a campaign on millions of small donors, Obama has effectively extended the concept of \u201cone person, one vote\u201d to \u201cone person, one donation.\u201d\u00a0 Even if the Court tears away campaign finance law, we can preserve equality in elections if everyone is able to give a small contribution, just as everyone is able to cast a ballot.\u00a0 The candidates with the largest number of supporters will succeed, upholding the basic principle of democracy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit\">A potential problem with this idea is it assumes that people donate somewhat equally. \u00a0Just as it would be undemocratic if you could only vote once but I could vote 1,000 times, it is undemocratic if you can only donate $100 but I can donate $100,000.\u00a0 However, three aspects of our donations system allow just that: \u00a0self-funding, corporate donations, and the magnitude of the individual donation cap.\u00a0 Next week I\u2019ll discuss each of these three obstacles to a democratic campaign financing system, and how we can overcome them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Jake Laperruque At a time when campaign finance law is\u00a0at risk of being abolished, how can we ensure that our 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