December 17, 2011  ·  Lessig

In Republic, Lost and in the New York Times, I have described a version of small dollar funded elections that I have called “The Grant and Franklin Project.” Here’s a brief statement of the plan. 

Assumption: Every voter pays at least $50 to the Federal Treasury in the form of taxes of some kind (income, payroll, etc.) (see, e.g., this JTC report).

The Plan:

1. The first $50 of revenue paid to the Treasury is rebated in the form of a Democracy Voucher.
2. That voucher (or any portion of it) can be given to any candidate for Congress who agrees to fund his or her campaign from two sources only: (1) Democracy Vouchers and (2) contributions from United States citizens capped at $100. 
3. If the voucher is not used, it reverts to the political party to which the voter is registered. 
4. If the voucher is not used, and the voter is not registered to a party, it reverts to a fund to support democracy in America. 

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