Campaign Finance: Shining a Light on Political Power (with Pete Quist of Open Secrets)
Channel: The Center for Election Science
Date: 2021-08-19

As Americans become more and more interested in reforms to improve elections, like approval voting, there has also been increased scrutiny on money in politics. Who funds candidate campaigns for office? What role does lobbying play in creating policies that affect all of us?

These are some of the questions that Open Secrets, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) money in politics watchdog, is dedicated to answering.

In this video, we sit down with Pete Quist, Deputy Research Director for Open Secrets, to dig deep into this important area of good government reform.

We discuss the types of political spending that influence elections and politics, approaches to regulating political spending, and key facts that you should know as a voter, including information about political funders and the real costs of elections. 

Some additional resources:
OpenSecrets - https://opensecrets.org/
Follow the Money - https://followthemoney.org/
State Laws Database - https://cfinst.github.io/#contribution-limits?question=IndividualToCandLimit_H_Max&year=2018 
The Campaign Legal Center - https://campaignlegal.org/ 
Little Sis - https://littlesis.org/
Good Jobs First - https://www.goodjobsfirst.org/
Powermapping Tool - https://www.followthemoney.org/tools/power-mapping?j=CA&y=2020

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