The Fix
It doesn't have to be this way.
The rest of this site shows how deep the money runs. This page is the other half: the problem has real, tested solutions. Here's what works, the senators already fighting for it, and the places where it's working right now.
What actually works
Small-donor public financing
Match small donations with public funds so a $10 gift counts like a big check. It pulls candidates toward ordinary people instead of a handful of large donors.
The proof: New York City matches the first $250 of a city resident's gift at 8 to 1. Candidates there now raise the bulk of their money from small, matched donors.
Dark-money disclosure
Require the groups spending big on elections to name their donors, so voters can see who is actually behind the ads.
The proof: The DISCLOSE Act would do exactly this. The Senate has blocked it more than once (you can see those votes on this site).
Overturn Citizens United
A constitutional amendment letting Congress and the states set limits on money in elections again, undoing the 2010 ruling that unleashed unlimited outside spending.
The proof: The Senate voted on it in 2014 (S.J.Res.19) and it fell short. It can be brought back. It has broad public support across both parties.
Ban congressional stock trading
Bar members of Congress from trading individual stocks while they write the laws and oversee the companies, removing a glaring conflict of interest.
The proof: Bipartisan bills to do this keep getting introduced. None has passed yet, but the public support is overwhelming.
Where it already works
Public financing isn't a theory. These places run it today.
Who's fighting for it
The 38 sitting senators who voted for the people every time one of these reform bills reached the floor (disclosure, the Citizens United amendment, the For the People and Freedom to Vote Acts). Tap any name for their full record.
This is a record of votes on these specific bills, not the non-partisan money grade. On reform like this the two parties have voted very differently, and we show that honestly. Source: Senate roll calls.