The Power of the Dollar and Constituency: Arizona Clean Elections as Campaign Finance Reform

The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission was put into effect in 2000 as a new method of campaign finance reform that sought to provide new voices with proper funds to compete with privately financed (traditional) candidates. In theory, the Clean Elections Commission could provide a more equal and more democratic method of handling elections in terms of campaign finance. Though much of its power was stripped away by the Supreme Court in the case, Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, the Commission still exists and provides qualifying candidates with a chance to run that they would not have otherwise and voters with more power to hold politicians accountable. Other work on the topic concerns its effectiveness as campaign finance reform and its ability to properly represent the constituents, though it lacks perspective from those in the political sphere who use or work on publicly funded campaigns. As such, along with my own background research, I interviewed three people who do have more direct experience with the Citizens Clean Elections Commission to determine their outlook on the system in its current and previous states. In doing so, I found that Arizona Clean Elections are not what they used to be and are likely not viable on a wider scale, though they still provide an accessible way to run for office and a method of voters holding their elected officials accountable.