THE POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE 2002 ELECTION IS CLEAR!

Clean Elections Candidates Won State's Top Offices:

· Clean Elections candidates won seven out of nine statewide offices: Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Corporation Commissioner (2-yr seat), Corporation Commissioner (4-yr seat), Mine Inspector.
· 36% of Arizona's legislature is comprised of Clean Elections elected officials free of ties to special interests and big money donors.
· Nearly 1/2 of the House of Representatives (27 of 60 members) were elected via Clean Elections.
· Five Arizona State Senators were elected via Clean Elections.
· 41% of all state offices (statewide and legislative) are now held by Clean Elections candidates.

Increased Voter Participation:

· Number of donations to political campaigns more than tripled thanks to Clean Elections, from 30,000 private donations in 1998 to more than 90,000 $5 Clean Elections qualifying contributions in 2002.

Increased Voter Turnout:

· Turnout increased by more than 10% statewide over 1998 levels.

Increased Voter Choice:
· Turnout increased by more than 10% statewide over 1998 levels.

· 24% increase in number of candidates in primary, from 199 in 1998 to 247 in 2002.
· 13% increase in total number of candidates in general election, from 150 in 1998 to 170 in 2002.
· 64% increase in number of candidates for statewide office in general election, from 14 in 1998 to 23 in 2002.
· The number of minority candidates in 2002 was triple the number in 1998.

Increased Competition:

· 50% increase in contested Senate races, up from 10 in 1998 to 21 in 2002.

Decreased Influence of Big-Money-Special-Interests:

· In 1998, 79% of all races were decided by money-- the candidates with the largest campaign war chests won. In 2002 only 2% of all races were affected by disparate funding. In all other races, funding was comparable for all candidates.

Provided Adequate Funding for Candidates:

· 139 candidates participated and 39 won their races. At least one candidate won despite having less than half the funding of his opponent (Tully vs. May).

Non-partisan: Republicans and Democrats Benefited!
· Of the 39 clean candidates elected, 22 were Republicans and 17 Democrats.

Strongly Supported by the Public:
· 64% of Arizonans support public funding for campaigns (Arizona Republic poll, Oct., 2002) and 66% specifically support Clean Elections (KAET poll, June, 2002).

· 80% of Arizonans believe that contributions influence votes on public policy (Behavior Research Center poll, December, 2001).

 

From: Clean Elections Institute, Inc.

* Note: Statistical comparisons are made to the 1998 election year because both 1998 and 2002 were election years in which all statewide offices were up for re-election.