Clean Elections Act
Sponsored By: Senator Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a federally funded public‑financing program called the Democracy Dollars Program. It would give eligible U.S. citizens $100 vouchers for each Congressional, Senate, and Presidential election series and set rules for eligibility, transfers, and account use.
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- Eligible individuals (U.S. citizens and nationals 18 or older) could request democracy dollars to support participating Federal candidates, with a base voucher of $100 per relevant election.
- Participating candidates must meet office‑specific qualifying thresholds and run on program rules. Democracy dollars go into a dedicated Democracy Dollar Account and candidates face a personal-fund limit of $2,500 per election.
- The Federal Election Commission would run the program, carry out random audits, set certification and delivery rules, and review voucher amounts after general elections to assess competitiveness.
*The bill authorizes appropriations as necessary, would repeal the Presidential public financing system, and transfers any remaining Presidential public financing funds to the general fund of the Treasury.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 5 mixed.
New Democracy Dollars program
If enacted, the bill would create a new Federal "Democracy Dollars" program run by the Federal Election Commission. The program would apply to federal elections after December 31, 2028. Congress would authorize whatever sums are necessary to run the program, and those funds would remain available until spent. The Commission would run the program, set rules, and distribute the democracy-dollar vouchers to eligible individuals.
Limits on qualifying gifts and privacy
If enacted, the bill would cap how much one person can give as a "qualified contribution" under the program. Caps start at $1,000 for cycles beginning 2029, then $800 (2031), $600 (2033), $400 (2035), and $200 for cycles starting 2037 and later, with a $200 runoff add‑on and later indexing rules. Participating candidates would also be limited to spending no more than $2,500 of personal funds per election (this includes immediate family spending). Campaigns would report that someone made a democracy‑dollar contribution publicly only with ZIP code, city, and occupation; full identity data would go to the FEC on a nonpublic list.
How candidates join and oversight
If enacted, candidates would need to meet set qualifying thresholds to be certified as participating. The thresholds would be $50,000 for House candidates, $500,000 for Senate, and $1,000,000 for President/Vice President, with indexing rules after 2030. The FEC would write rules, run audits of participating candidates, set sample sizes, and do outreach. The FEC could refuse or revoke certification for rule violations.
Rules for using and sending vouchers
If enacted, transfers of democracy dollars to participating candidates would have to be in $10 increments and any non‑multiple would be rounded down to the nearest $10. Those transfers would count as the donor's contribution for reporting and contribution‑limit purposes. Transfers to candidates not certified at least 30 days before the election would be void and the donor could reassign the dollars. The FEC would deposit pay-outs into a candidate's Democracy Dollar Account within five business days of notice and could set a minimum-payment threshold. If transfers exceed the money Congress provided, the FEC would pay earlier‑notified transfers first.
Who gets democracy dollars and how
If enacted, eligible individuals (U.S. citizens or nationals age 18+) could request democracy dollars for a single State during the two-year election cycle. Full-time college students could choose the State where their school is located. People living abroad would use the State where they are qualified to vote or their last U.S. State of residence. Requests would be allowed from the cycle start until 10 days before the election. Except for special elections, you could get at most one primary and one general election distribution per office per cycle. The Commission would run a mail-distribution pilot and could expand it if it proves cost-effective.
End presidential public financing
If enacted, the bill would repeal the existing Presidential public financing system in the tax code. Any funds remaining in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund on the effective date would be transferred to the Treasury general fund. The repeal would apply to federal elections after December 31, 2028.
Rules on using and returning vouchers
If enacted, democracy dollars in a candidate's account could only be used for authorized federal campaign expenses. The bill would ban converting those funds to personal use, reimbursing donors, or paying family members. If a participating candidate withdraws, is removed from the ballot, or loses, they would have to return unspent democracy dollars to the Commission within 10 business days.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
NY • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov