127,000 People In Florida Want Fairer Campaign Funding . . . But Will It Happen?

Two Kinds of Dough…

At Ben & Jerry’s, we LOVE dough. Cookie dough, that is. We love cookie dough in our ice cream because, well, it just tastes so so good.

But all the unregulated dough in politics? That’s a lot tougher for us to swallow.

We’re not alone.

At least 127,000 people in Miami-Dade County, Florida, have a big problem with it too.

Six Hours Is Too Long . . . And They Made It Worse

Miami-Dade, with a population of about 2.6 million, is Florida’s most populous county and, unfortunately, no stranger to election controversies. During the 2012 presidential election, for example, voters had to wait in line up to six hours to cast a ballot. County leaders, of course, immediately sought to address this problem and… decided to close all restrooms at polling stations. So they—wait, what? Did they actually do that?

Yes, they actually did. 

The Money Does Not Represent The People

As is the case in many states, many of Florida’s voting restrictions disproportionately affect blacks, Latinos, and other people of color. But disenfranchisement is not the only way these communities are excluded from politics.

Our friends at Demos have published a report by local Miami-Dade organizers that illustrates how the county’s rich diversity is nowhere to be found when it comes to local campaign contributions.

One example: While making up one-fifth of Miami-Dade’s population, blacks represent only 2% of those who contribute money to mayoral candidates. And when blacks do donate, they tend to do so at low levels, dollar amounts that are easily dwarfed by the massive contributions of (usually older, white, male) big-dollar donors. And we all know that power and influence follows money.

Leveling the Playing Field

An Accountable Miami-Dade, a group dedicated to reducing the power of money in Miami-Dade politics, took note of this frustrating funding disparity and decided to do something about it.

They called for a referendum on how campaigns are funded.

And then got 127,000 people to sign their petition. 127,000!

It Just Makes So Much Sense

Here’s the great stuff that their measure would do:

*  Lower the cap for individual contributions by 75%, from $1000 to $250 per person.

*  Prohibit big county contractors, and their lobbyists, from dropping any cash directly into candidates’ bank accounts.

* Set up a system that would match donations up to $100 per person with public funds to increase the impact of donations made by everyday people.

Here's To The Little Guy

The last item is particularly exciting. New York City’s matching system has shown that matching funds can turn small donors into big influencers. The voices of regular Floridians would be amplified, leading to increased participation at all levels of the political process—and leading candidates for office to start paying more attention to the needs and priorities of ordinary people.

Let’s Do It!

“If this law passes in the fall, we believe it will be one of the strongest policies found anywhere in the country when it comes to lifting up the voices of regular people,” said David Donnelly, executive director of Every Voice, a group fighting big money in politics.

Sounds awesome! What’s the holdup?

Seems That Someone Is Dragging His Feet

Well, here’s what has to happen:

* By law, county commissioners have 30 days to direct the elections supervisor to start counting petitions and checking all the signatures.

* At that point, the elections supervisor has 30 days to finish that job.

* When all signatures have been verified, the county commissioners can either say, “This is great, let’s make the measure a law,” or put it to a vote at the next election.

And here’s what has happened so far:

* As of August 22, the petitions sit untouched and uncounted.

Local activists believe that the Miami-Dade mayor, Carlos Gimenez, and other county leaders are dragging their heels to ensure that the measure will not appear on ballots this November.

After witnessing weeks of inaction, An Accountable Miami-Dade filed a lawsuit to force the mayor and commission to start the process immediately. That seemed to do the trick, because the county commission recently announced a special meeting, for Monday, August 23, to begin counting.

Do the Right Thing, Florida

We hope that the county commission will do the right thing in Miami-Dade and get this hopeful, balanced, and essential campaign-funding-reform measure on the ballot before the voters this year.

When it comes to building a better, stronger, more inclusive, and more fair system of government, there’s no time to waste.

Want to learn more about what’s up in Florida? Check out what our friends at Demos have to say.