The People's Pledge is a formal campaign finance agreement between all candidates and their campaigns in a given election. It aims to reduce non-party group spending in an election by limiting expenditures to candidates’ campaigns and party committees.
The Pledge requires candidates to pay a penalty if outside spending groups spend on behalf of their campaign. Outside spending is defined as any
independent expenditure
An independent expenditure, in elections in the United States, is a political campaign communication that Issue advocacy ads, expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consulta ...
by a non-party group to benefit a candidate.
The People's Pledge was developed by
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and
Sen. Scott Brown during the
2012 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts. The candidates publicly called on outside groups to stop spending in support of either candidate. They then agreed to pay a penalty equal to half the amount of any outside expenditure from their campaign account to a charity of the opponent's choice.
In the
2012 U.S Senate election in Massachusetts, the Pledge significantly reduced outside spending. People's Pledges have been implemented in 2014 primary elections and proposed in numerous federal races.
Common Cause
Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...
,
Public Citizen
Public Citizen is a non-profit, progressive consumer rights advocacy group and think tank based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas.
Lobbying efforts
Public Citizen advocates before all three branches of the Unit ...
Common Cause,
Public Campaign Action Fund, and the
Public Interest Research Group launched a campaign to promote the People's Pledge in the 2014 election cycle.
In addition to the 2012 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, a People's Pledge was implemented in the democratic primary for the
2013 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts and the democratic primary for the
2014 gubernatorial election in Rhode Island. The Pledge has been proposed by at least one candidate in the
2012 U.S. Senate election in Maine, the
2013 mayoral election in Los Angeles and the 2014 U.S. Senate elections in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
.
References
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Election campaigns
Campaign finance in the United States
Campaign finance reform in the United States