ABSTRACT
Money for election campaigns is both a necessity and a risk. It is essential to create an informed electorate who turn out to vote in large numbers to confer public legitimacy on the outcome. Printed and electronic communications, campaign events, the specialized campaign techniques such as polling, and professionals who supply them all need money. Yet raising the money to fund these essential expenditures has the potential to warp and undermine democratic processes. Inequalities of money can translate into inequalities of information and persuasiveness, restricting the competitiveness of an election. Suppliers of campaign funds may gain leverage in government as a reward for their donations. In seeking funding, parties and candidates may pander to the interests of individual and organized donors. Elections then risk becoming channels of private advantage rather than a means to securing the public interest.
