Amendment 75: ‘Millionaire Rule’ Could Mean More Election Cash

COLORADO – By Corey Hutchins for The Colorado Independent. Voters hear a lot about the influence of money in our elections, everything from how we need to keep the green stuff out of our politics to how critical fundraising is to compete to the role of campaign contributions as a form of free speech.

This week, Coloradans will see a question on their ballots asking whether they want to allow candidates for state office to raise more money than is legal now.

Among the 13 Big Questions voters face is this:

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution providing that if any candidate in a primary or general election for state office directs more than one million dollars in support of his or her own election, then every candidate for that office in the same election may accept five times the amount of campaign contributions normally allowed?

Call this the “millionaire rule.” Or even the “millionaire-buddy rule.”

Supporters of the proposed new law say its purpose is to level the playing field for candidates who don’t have bottomless personal pocketbooks or don’t have friends and political allies willing to put millions of dollars into a race on their behalf. Critics of the measure argue it will bring more money into Colorado’s elections and won’t act as a useful deterrent to wealthy candidates spending big bucks on their own behalf.

READ MORE at The Colorado Independent.

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