Candidates cannot use their own money and accept donations from the outside once public funding is given to them. They can still accept matching funds given that their opponents are benefiting from independent expenditures, they are being attacked directly by independent expenditures, and they are being outspent by candidates that are privately funded.

However, limits will be set as to how much matching funds can be received. Nevertheless, this is why clean money financing systems are preferred over presidential campaign systems because the latter does not provide extra funding for candidates under attack.

Not to mention that Clean Elections levels the playing field, as seen in Arizona during its first year of implementation, with disproportionate funding at just 2% in the electoral races between candidates.

Dollar for Dollar Funds

Smaller donations are inherently less corrupting compared to larger donations so this is seen as a way to introduce reform as well as a means of enhancing power for people of less wealth. This reform plan is already in place but not everyone is sold on the matching funds system because some fear that it is being used as a safety net by losing candidates.

Voting by dollars states that all voters will be given publicly funded vouchers worth $50 (patriot dollars) that they can donate to political campaigns. The voucher can be split so it is possible for voters to donate to several campaigns of their choosing. All the donations, both the voucher and private contributions, will have to be done anonymously though through the Federal Election Commission.

The book by Ayres and Ackerman also includes model legislation on top of detailed discussions on how the voting with dollars system is to be achieved as well as the system’s legal foundations.