The Massachusetts Clean Elections Law
This law was passed as a ballot initiative in 1998 and repealed by the Legislature in 2003. For the complete
text of the law and additonal information, please visit the state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance site, at:
http://www.state.ma.us/OCPF/clean02.htm.
Summary:
- The Clean Elections Law allows
candidates who agree to fixed spending limits and $100
contribution limits to receive a set amount of public
money for the primary and general elections.
- The Clean Elections Law closes the
soft money loophole by eliminating unlimited transfers of
"soft money" from national parties to state
parties.
- The Clean Elections Law requires the electronic
disclosure of all campaign contributions to candidates and political
committees.
Purpose:
The Clean
Elections Law seeks to:
- affirm the principle
of "one person, one vote" and give all
citizens meaningful participation in the
democratic process.
- halt the rising cost
of campaigns.
- encourage an open and
full debate on issues of public concern.
- strengthen public
confidence in democracy and eliminate the danger
of corruption caused by the private financing of
public elections.
- increase the
accountability of public officials to the voters.
- ensure that any
qualified citizen can run for office.
- allow candidates to
spend less time fundraising and more time talking
about issues to voters in their district.
How to Participate:
To
participate in Massachusetts Clean Elections, a candidate
must:
- Abide by the spending
limit for their race.
- Agree not to accept
any contribution over $100 and to abide by a low,
aggregate limit on private contributions.
- DEMONSTRATE VOTER
SUPPORT BY COLLECTING A MINIMUM NUMBER OF SMALL
QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM VOTERS IN THEIR
DISTRICT.
Qualifying Contributions:
| Office |
# of
Contributions |
| State
Representative |
200 |
| State Senator |
450 |
| Governor's
Council |
400 |
| Secretary of
State and Auditor |
2,000 |
| Lieutenant Governor,
Attorney General and Treasurer |
3,000 |
| Governor |
6,000 |
Qualifying contributions must be collected during
a specified period. For a statewide candidate, this period begins August 1st of
the year before the election and ends in early June on the last day that
nomination papers may be filed with the Secretary of State. For other
candidates, the period begins January 1st of the election year and ends in late
May.
Spending Limits:
The proposed law sets spending limits for Clean
Election candidates. Clean Elections candidates may spend 60% of the specified
limit in the primary and 40% of the limit in the general election (see Campaign
Funds table).
Contribution Limits:
A Clean Elections candidate may not accept any
contribution greater than $100 from any individual, PAC or political party. The
total amount of private contributions that a candidate may raise is also limited
(see Campaign Funds table).
In-kind Contributions:
Participating candidates may also accept in-kind
contributions such as donated equipment or supplies, subject to low, overall
limits specified by the law: State Representative, $3,000; State Senator,
$6,000; Governor's Council, $3,000; Secretary of State and Auditor, $15,000;
Attorney General, Treasurer and Lt. Governor, $20,000; Governor, $35,000. These
limited in-kind contributions are separate from the spending limit.
Clean Election Funds:
Candidates who qualify and abide by all spending
and contribution limits receive a set amount of public funds for their primary
and general elections. Candidates without an opponent in a primary or general
election receive half of the clean election funds for that election period.
Candidates receive 60% of their Clean Election Funds for use in the primary and
40% for use in the general election.
| Office |
Spending Limit |
Private Contribution Limit |
Clean Election Funds |
| State Representative |
$30,000 |
$6,000 |
$24,000 |
| State
Senator |
$90,000 |
$18,000 |
$72,000 |
| Governor's
Council |
$40,000 |
$8,000 |
$32,000 |
| Secretary
of State & Auditor |
$250,000 |
$50,000 |
$200,000 |
| Attorney
General & Treasurer |
$750,000 |
$150,000 |
$600,000 |
| Lieutenant
Governor |
$750,000 |
$112,000 |
$638,000 |
| Governor |
$3,000,000 |
$450,000 |
$2,550,000 |
Non-participating Candidates:
Candidates who choose not to participate in Massachusetts
Clean Elections receive no public money.
Matching Funds:
If a non-participating candidate exceeds the spending limit set for a Clean
Elections candidate, the Clean Election candidates would be entitled to receive additional funds equal to
the excess expenditure. Matching funds are available to Clean Elections candidates up to twice the spending
limit.
Use of Funds:
Clean Election candidates may only spend Clean Election funds for reasonable
and necessary campaign-related expenses and not for personal use.
