Publications

July 29, 2010

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Money and Power in the City of Angels (July 2010)

Money and Power in the City of Angels analyzes the impact of Los Angeles' twenty-year old campaign finance reforms on the 2009 city elections. The report finds LA's campaign finance reforms have limited the massive flow of contributions from organizations. However, incumbents are out-raising challengers 19-to-1 and raising large sums through ballot measure committees. Independent expenditures are also significant in competitive open seat races. Money and Power offers specific reform recommendations and is based on data collected by MAPLight.org and the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. [view report]

Open Primaries and Top Two Elections: Proposition 14 on California’s June 2010 Ballot (2010)

Proposition 14 would replace California’s election system with one that would feature an open primary followed by a general election run off between the top two finishers in the primary. In the open primary, voters could vote for any candidate running for a particular office regardless of the party affiliation, if any, of the voter or of the candidates. CGS’ report, Open Primaries and Top Two Elections: Proposition 14 on California’s June 2010 Ballot, draws three conclusions. First, more than one-third of all California legislative and congressional general election races could be between two members of the same party. Second, nearly all of these general election contests would involve two Democrats. Third, some of these races that would involve two members of the same party could be close enough that voters from the other party or DTS voters could swing an election to a more moderate candidate. [view report]

Dagstuhl Seminar on Democracy in a Network Society - Overview (2009)

How can computer and software scientists help political scientists build the "Interfaces of Democracy" that will use the Internet and other communications technologies to improve citizen engagement with public officials, voting, access to public information and other democratic processes? This report from the 2009 Dagstuhl Conference in Germany, which brought together international experts in democracy and computer science, presents recommendations to make government information more accessible and useful, improve voting technologies, enhance online decision-making and balance the needs for surveillance against the civil liberties of privacy and anonymity. [view report]

Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs (2009)

Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs: Evasions of Campaign Finance laws, and a Model Law to Block Them. [view report]

Pilgrim's Progress (2008)

The Development of PolicyArchive: An Online Bridge between the Research and Policy Communities. [view report]

Public Campaign Financing in North Carolina Judiciary: Balancing The Scales (2009)

Public Campaign Financing in North Carolina Judiciary: Balancing The Scales analyzes North Carolina's judicial public campaign financing law, and concludes that North Carolina's judicial campaign finance program is a model of reform, but that four recommended reforms should be implemented in order to ensure the long-term viability of the program. The program insulates Court of Appeals and Supreme Court judges from the influence of contributors who may have an interest in cases before the judge and decreases the amount of time judicial candidates need to spend fundraising, therefore increasing the time candidates can spend with all voters, regardless of the voters' ability to make campaign contributions. In addition, public financing programs such as North Carolina's have been shown to increase the public's confidence in their elected officials. [view report]

State Public Financing Charts (2009)

Charts summarizing the key features of various types of public financing programs currently on the books in twenty three states in the United States. [view report]

Local Public Financing Charts (2009)

Chart summarizing the laws of all sixteen local government jurisdictions in the United States that have public financing programs. [view report]

Public Campaign Financing in Florida: A Program Sours (2009)

Public Campaign Financing in Florida: A Program Sours analyzes Florida's twenty-year old public financing program which provides public funds to eligible candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and state cabinet posts. The report concludes that Florida's campaign finance reform program needs to be reformed if it is to serve its stated purposes. The report details eleven reforms that Florida should implement in order to improve its once successful public financing program and solve the two primary problems facing the program; excessive expenditure limits and high spending by political parties. [view report]

Mapping Public Financing in American Elections (2009)

Mapping Public Financing in American Elections provides a comprehensive map-view of state and local public financing programs in the United States. The map displays three types of jurisdictions: (1) those which provide full public financing to candidates; (2) those which provide some form of partial public financing to candidates; and (3) those which give public funds to political parties. The map also shows states and local jurisdictions which have introduced legislation to create or significantly alter an existing form of public financing in the last 24 months. [view maps]

Model Law on Payments Influencing Candidates and Elected Officials (2008)

CGS presented a model law at the December 2008 COGEL conference (Council on Governmental Ethics Laws) that would provide for public disclosure of all money raised by candidates and elected officials, including payments made to non-campaign entities. The proposed law is designed to respond to an ever increasing number of reports about the various ways that politicians raise funds outside of the reach of the current campaign finance laws. These so-called "end runs" or loopholes around contribution limits include fundraising for inaugurations, officeholder accounts, legal defense funds, charities, reimbursed travel expenses, and leadership political action committees. [view report]

Redistricting Reform in California: Proposition 11 on the November 2008 California Ballot (2008)

Redistricting Reform in California: Proposition 11 on the November 2008 California Ballot makes five key findings. First, the independent commission is likely to be more ethnically diverse than the legislature’s redistricting committees. Second, the independent commission will be more balanced between Republicans, Democrats and members of neither major party. Third, the independent commission will be more open to public input than legislative committees. Fourth, the districts created by the independent commission will almost certainly be more competitive than districts created by the legislature. Finally, the independent commission will almost certainly produce maps through a process that has improved transparency and public access. [view report]

Public Campaign Financing : New Jersey Legislature - A Pilot Project Takes Flight (2008)

Public Campaign Financing in New Jersey—Legislature: A Pilot Project Takes Flight provides an in-depth analysis of and recommendations concerning New Jersey’s new public campaign financing program for select legislative elections. It concludes that New Jersey’s experiment with clean elections is now a success and that, with a few reforms, should be expanded to all legislative districts. [view report] - [Summary of Recommendations (.doc)] - Press Release (.doc)

Public Campaign Financing : New Jersey Governor - Weeding Out Big Money in the Garden State (2008)

Public Campaign Financing in New Jersey -- Governor: Weeding Out Big Money in the Garden State analyzes the nation’s first public campaign financing program for gubernatorial elections, enacted by New Jersey over 30 years ago, and recommends upgrades to improve that program. Weeding Out Big Money in the Garden State concludes that while the program functioned well for decades, it must now be reformed to account for new challenges such as independent expenditures, issue ads and high-spending opponents. [view report] - [Summary of Recommendations (.doc)] - Press Release (.doc)

Public Campaign Financing : Minnesota - Damming Big Money in the Land of 10,000 Lakes (2008)

Public Campaign Financing in Minnesota: Damming Big Money in the Land of 10,000 Lakes concludes that, while Minnesota’s public campaign financing program has long led the nation in limiting big money’s power in state elections and the program is still considered one of the finest in the country, the program now faces a serious and growing challenge: independent expenditures by political parties and other non-candidate groups. [view report] - [Summary of Recommendations (.doc)] - Press Release (.doc)

Public Campaign Financing : Wisconsin - Showing Its Age (2008)

Public Campaign Financing in Wisconsin: Showing Its Age finds that while Wisconsin in 1977 adopted one of the first and best public campaign financing laws in the nation, the legislature’s 1986 decision to limit funding to participating candidates made it difficult for them to compete. The report recommends that Wisconsin adopt a full public financing ("clean money") program, or implement a number of modest reforms to its existing system, including funding and spending limits for participating candidates. [view report] - [Summary of Recommendations (.doc)] - Press Release (.doc)

Public Campaign Financing : Michigan - Driving Towards Collapse? (2008)

Public Campaign Financing in Michigan: Driving Towards Collapse examines Michigan’s 32-year old gubernatorial public campaign financing program. It concludes that Michigan should either overhaul its public campaign financing law and provide additional funding for gubernatorial candidates, or abandon the program altogether and shift its funding to judicial campaigns for the state supreme court. [view report] - [Summary of Recommendations (.doc)] - Press Release (.doc)

Online Signature Gathering for California Initiatives (2008)

CGS commissioned "Online Signature Gathering for California Initiatives" as part of its recently-released Democracy By Initiative (2nd Edition). This report analyzes the feasibility of gathering signatures online as part of the circulation process to qualify initiatives for the ballot. Though not adopted as one of CGS's recommendations, the authors of the report conclude that though the risk of fraud remains a potential stumbling block, there is the real risk of forgery associated with the use of handwritten signatures for one of the most popular methods of voting: absentee balloting. And yet, most jurisdictions allow it. The main benefit of adding electronic signature gathering to the mix of permitted signature gathering methods is that grass-root groups, many of whom lack the financial resources to qualify an initiative under the current system, would find it easier to make it to the ballot. [view report]

Overview of California’s Redistricting Reform Proposals (2008)

CGS recently released a comprehensive overview of California's 2008 redistricting reform proposals to assist legislators, the media and interested citizens in understanding the redistricting reform measures. In an easy-to-read format, the Comparative Overview details the major provisions of the pending legislative and ballot initiative proposals. It also compares them against the requirements in the California Constitution and components of the ideal redistricting plan previously developed by CGS and other civic organizations. [view report]

Democracy by Initiative: Shaping California's Fourth Branch of Government, 2nd Edition

Ballot initiatives have reshaped the lives of California citizens for almost 100 years, yet the initiative process itself has become outmoded, inflexible, confusing, complex, difficult for citizens to use and excessively dominated by money, concludes a new report, Democracy by Initiative: Shaping California’s Fourth Branch of Government.

You can download the complete book or individual chapters:

Complete Book - (2 MB) (includes click-able Table of Contents)

Executive Summary

Chapter 1 - Origins and History

Chapter 2 - Impact of Ballot Initiatives

Chapter 3 - Drafting and Amendability

Chapter 4 - Circulation and Qualification

Chapter 5 - Constitutional Revisions

Chapter 6 - Voter Information

Chapter 7 - Media Coverage

Chapter 8 - Influence of Money

Chapter 9 - Judicial Review

Chapter 10 - Enacting Recommendations

Appendices A—F - Checklist of Recommendations

If you would like to receive a hard copy of the book or an Executive Summary, please contact Victoria Martinez at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or 310.470.6590 x130.

Local Public Financing Charts (2007)

Chart summarizing the laws of all fifteen local government jurisdictions in the United States that have public financing programs. [view report]

State Public Financing Charts (2007)

Charts summarizing the key features of various types of public financing programs currently on the books in twenty three states in the United States. [view report]

Termed Out (2007)

CGS recently published Termed Out: Reforming California’s Legislative Term Limits, a comprehensive analysis of California’s 17-year experiment with term limits. Termed Out finds that the six-year Assembly and eight-year Senate term limits have increased minority representation in the state legislature, but they have diminished legislative expertise and oversight over the executive branch and administrative agencies.

Termed Out also analyzes Proposition 93, which will appear on the February 2008 ballot, and which would allow legislators to serve 12 years in either one or both houses. It concludes that the initiative would improve legislative expertise and strengthen legislative oversight, but it would decrease opportunities for challengers and allow many incumbent legislators to extend their time in office. [view report]

Mapping Public Financing in American Elections (2007)

Mapping Public Financing in American Elections provides a comprehensive map-view of state and local public financing programs in the United States. The maps show existing state and local programs by category (full public financing jurisdictions, partial public financing jurisdictions, and jurisdictions that give public financing to political parties), as well as states that have introduced public financing legislation in the last 12 months. [view report]

In The Dead of the Night: How Midnight Legislation Weakened California’s Campaign Finance Laws, And How to Strengthen Them (2007)

In the Dead of the Night is the first comprehensive analysis of California's Prop. 34. Passed by voters in November 2000, Prop. 34 weakened many of the campaign finance laws then on the books. The report also contains a number of specific recommendations for improving California’s campaign finance system. [view report]

Overview of California’s Redistricting Reform Proposals (2007)

A comprehensive overview of California’s 2007 redistricting reform proposals that details the major provisions of the pending legislative and ballot initiative proposals. It also compares them against the components of the ideal redistricting plan previously developed by CGS and other civic organizations. [view report]

Re–Drawing Lines: A Public Interest Analysis of California’s 2006 Redistricting Reform Proposals (2006)

Re-Drawing Lines includes a comprehensive review of Senate Constitutional Amendment 3 (SCA 3) and a ballot initiative submitted for title and summary by Ted Costa. The report compares both measures to public interest goals and concludes that partisan fairness, public participation and transparency would be improved by placing control of California redistricting in the hands of an independent commission. Re-Drawing Lines is designed to inform policy makers of the strengths of the two reform proposals and potential public interest improvements that would enhance each. [view report]

Government Regulation of Food Marketing to Children: The Federal Trade Commission and the Kid-Vid Controversy (2006)

By Tracy Westen
39 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 79
April 2006 [view article]

Digital Citizens' Bill of Rights (2006)

By Tracy Westen
January 2006 [view article]

Keeping It Clean: Public Financing in American Elections (2006)

Keeping It Clean: Public Financing in American Elections analyzes and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of state and local public campaign financing systems in the United States. This report concludes that public campaign financing can resolve many of the campaign finance and electoral problems that currently plague the political process. Keeping It Clean details the positive effects of public campaign financing programs: more candidates, more competition, more voter participation and less influence-peddling. [view report]

California Fair Redistricting Act (2005)

The California Fair Redistricting Act is a model law created expressly for reform-minded legislators and citizens. The Model Law reflects the recommendations made in the Center for Governmental Studies and Demos joint report, Drawing Lines: A Public Interest Guide to Real Redistricting Reform. [view report]

Public Financing Laws in Local Jurisdictions -- Summary Chart (2005)

Chart summarizing the laws of all 12 local government jurisdictions in the United States that have public financing programs. [view report]

Drawing Lines: A Public Interest Guide to Real Redistricting Reform (2005)

Drawing Lines recommends criteria for selection of Independent Redistricting Commission members, key components to be included in any redistricting plan, and analyzes the major features of each current proposal against the recommendations. The report finds that each one falls short of assuring fair representation of California’s population. [view report]

State Public Campaign Financing Laws -- Summary Charts (2005)

Charts summarizing the key features of various types of public financing programs currently on the books in twenty four states in the United States. [view report]

Electronic Filing and Disclosure Survey Results (2004)

Findings from the 7th Annual Electronic Filing and Disclosure Survey are summarized in a presentation made to the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL).
[See presentation]

Losing Ground: How Taxpayer Subsidies and Balkanized Governance Prop Up Homebuilding in Wildfire and Flood Zones (2004)

CGS study finds that hidden subsidies and fragmented governance encourage homebuilding in disaster-prone, environmentally pristine foothills. [view report]

Video Voter: Producing Election Coverage for Your Community (2004)

Video Voter: Producing Election Coverage for Your Community offers producers step-by-step instructions on how to create and distribute unedited video coverage of candidates and ballot measure campaigns in their own communities. [view report (850kb)]

A New Sacramento Policy Center: A CGS Feasibility Study (2004)

CGS report calls for creation of a Sacramento, California policy center to make public policy research more accessible to government lawmakers. [view report (5.4mb)]

Summary of CGS Media Projects and Positions For the Oxford Internet Institute Conference (2004)

By Tracy Westen

Original text of article published in The New Agenda for E-Democracy,
Position Papers for an OII Symposium, May 7, 2004 [view article]

Campaign Finance Disclosure Model Law (2004)

CGS, in conjunction with the Campaign Disclosure Project, released this Model Campaign Finance Disclosure Law that is available for the immediate adoption by states wishing to improve the accessibility and transparency of campaign finance information. The Model Law highlights the top ten provisions to improve campaign finance laws at all levels of governments.[view report (1mb)]

Investing in Democracy: Creating Public Financing of Elections in Your Community (2003)

Report describes over 40 creative new funding sources to support public campaign finance systems. Based on interviews with dozens of state and national fiscal and campaign finance experts, ideas include income tax surcharges on millionaires, increased civil and criminal fines, surcharges on punitive damage awards, tax amnesty programs, public campaign financing bonds, 100% tax credits, "Democracy Endowments," "Patriot Credit Cards" and free time on city-operated cable television channels. It also includes detailed summaries of 27 state and 11 local public financing laws. [view report]

Political Reform That Works...Tucson (2003)

Tucson's public campaign financing system, enacted in 1985, is a major success and can serve as a model for small- and medium-sized cites throughout the United States. Tucson's law is the oldest local government public financing law currently administered in the nation and demonstrates that, given sufficient time, public financing can become an integral part of a jurisdiction's political culture. This report explores the successes of Tucson's law and recommends reforms to enhance its effectiveness. [view report]

A Statute of Liberty: How New York City's Campaign Finance Law is Changing the Face of Local Elections (2003)

New York City's successful public campaign financing law is a "statute of liberty," attracting new participants and competition in city elections and offering a model for other cities to follow across the United States, according to this CGS study. However, the emergence of wealthy candidates and independent expenditures, coupled with weak state campaign finance laws, have created loopholes in the city's program that lawmakers must close if New York City is to remain among the nation's reform leaders. [view report (1.3mb)]

Public Financing of Elections: Where to Get the Money? (2003)

Electronic Filing and Disclosure Survey Results (2003)

The most comprehensive survey of its kind, the sixth annual Survey includes responses from 45 States, 7 Canadian Provinces, the Federal Election Commission, Elections Canada and 9 local jurisdictions. Despite large amounts of money spent so far on electronic filing and disclosure programs, budgetary resources remain a continuing struggle for many jurisdictions. The consistent evolution of electronic filing systems is a testament to the growing needs and expectations of filers, government agencies and their respective constituents. [view report]

CGS Amicus Curiae Brief in McConnell v FEC - United States Supreme Court (2003)

By Richard L. Hasen
Submitted by the Center for Governmental Studies in the case of McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, July 28, 2003 [view article]

Video Voter Information: How Community Media Can Educate Voters (and Save American Elections at the Same Time!) (2002 - 2003)

By Area Madaras and Tracy Westen
Community Media Review, the Journal of the Alliance for Community Media
Winter 2002-2003 [view article]

Video Voter Information: How Combinations of New and Old Media Can Educate Voters (and Save American Elections at the Same Time!) (2003)

By Tracy Westen
Original text of article published by NetPulse, the E-journal of politicking on the Internet
March 18 2003 [view article]

Beyond BCRA: Cutting-Edge Campaign Finance Reform at the Local Government Level (2003)

By Paul Ryan
National Civic Review
Volume 92, Number 1, Spring 2003 [view article]

Alluvial Amnesia: How Officials Imperil Communities by Downplaying Flood Risks (2002)

Report of the Foothills Project on how officials ignored the flood safety warnings of state emergency managers in order to speed approval for the construction of a $48 million high school in Rancho Cucamonga. CGS would like to extend a special thank you to Kathleen Stockwell for allowing the use of her beautiful cover photograph. [view report (17 mb)]

Dead On Arrival? Breathing Life into Suffolk County's New Campaign Finance Reforms (2002)

Report closely examines the public financing law in New York's Suffolk County. The CGS report found that, if properly funded, the County's campaign finance law could slow runaway campaign spending, reduce the undue influence of wealthy donors and amplify the political voice of individuals. But the current funding base for the program is so insufficient that, unless changes are implemented, the system is dead on arrival. [view report (140kb)]

On the Brink of Clean: Launching San Francisco's New Campaign Finance Reforms (2002)

Report examines the city's new campaign finance law, which will create the first publicly financed elections in the city's history in November 2002. Based on six months of study the report proposes a series of reforms to close loopholes in the law and preserve the intent of voters who approved San Francisco's public financing system through passage of Proposition O in 2000. [view report]

Electronic Filing and Disclosure Survey Results (2002)

State officials who oversee the filing and disclosure of campaign finance information report strong satisfaction by candidates, the press and the public over electronic filing and disclosure systems for campaign finance information, according to this CGS report. [view report]

Electronic Filing and Disclosure Survey Results (2001)

61 responses from 50 states, 4 Canadian provinces, 6 cities and the Federal Elections Commission. [view report]

Campaigns Online (2001)

By Tracy Westen
Original text of article published in Campaigns Online, Newsletter, Office of Intergovernmental Solutions, General Services Administration
November 2001 [view article]

Eleven Years of Reform: Many Successes, More to be Done: Campaign Financing in the City o f Los Angeles (2001)

Report on campaign finance reform and public financing laws in Los Angeles, California. [view report]

Affordable Health Care for Low Income Californians (2000)

Report and Recommendations of the California Citizens Budget Commission. [view report (10mb)]

Online Fundraising: Campaign Finance Solution or Gasoline on the Flames?
By Tracy Westen
Original text of article published in National Voter, League of Women Voters
June 2000 [view article]

Electronic Democracy (Ready or Not, Here it Comes) (2000)

By Tracy Westen
Original text of article published in National Civic Review
October 2000 [view article]

Access Delayed is Access Denied (2000)

Electronic reporting of campaign finance activities. [view report]

Campaign Money on the Information Superhighway (1996, 1999)

Report by the National Resources Center on State and Local Campaign Finance Reform on Electronic Filing and Disclosure of Campaign Finance Reports. [view report]

Blueprint: A State of Learning: California and the Dream of Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century (1998)

Final Report and Recommendations of the California Citizens Commission on Higher Education. [view report (10mb)]

A 21st Century Budget Process for California (1998)

Recommendations of the California Citizens Budget Commission. [view report(6.5mb)]

Toward a State of Learning: California Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century (1998)

Publications

Recommendations of the California Citizens Commission on Higher Education. Not available online at this time. To order, call 310-470-6590 x124.

A Shared Vision: A Practical Guide to the Design and Implementation of a Performance-Based Budget Model for California State Health Services (1997)

Publications

Report and Recommendations of the California Citizens Budget Commission. Not available online at this time. To order, call 310-470-6590 x124.

Opportunity Through Technology: A Conference on New Communication Technology and Low-Income Communities (1997)

Publications

Not available online at this time. To order, call 310-470-6590 x124.

Promises to Keep and Miles to Go (1997)

Publications

A Summary of the Joint Meeting of the California Citizens Commission on Higher Education and the California Education Roundtable. Not available online at this time. To order, call 310-470-6590 x124.

Reforming California's Budget Process (1995)

Publications

Preliminary report and recommendations of the California Citizens Budget Commission.

The Price of Justice (1995)

A Los Angeles area case study in judicial campaign financing. [view report (22mb)]

City Access (1995)

Publications

Report on the design of a new interactive system of local government, election and community information. Not available online at this time. To order, call 310-470-6590 x124.

To Govern Ourselves: Ballot Initiatives in the Los Angeles Area (1992)

A report of the California Commission on Campaign Financing on ballot initiatives in the Los Angeles area. [view report]

Democracy by Initiative: Shaping California's Fourth Branch of Government (1992)

The ballot initiative is a major generator of state policy in California. This report is the summation of two years of study by the California Commission on Campaign Financing into the impact of the initiative process on California politics and policy. [view report (40mb)]

The California Channel: A New Public Affairs Television Network for the State (1989)

Report on the development of the California Channel, the nation's first statewide public affairs channel cablecasting state legislative proceedings into citizen's homes. [view report (23mb)]

Money and Politics in the Golden State: Financing California's Local Elections (1989)

This report is the summation of three years of study by the California Commission on Campaign Financing into the impact of local campaign financing practices on city and county government. Local campaign financing absorbs as much as one-fifth of all money spent in American politics, yet no in-depth study of local campaign spending has ever been conducted in this country. [view report (40mb)]

Money and Politics in Local Elections (1989)

Publications

Report from the California Commission on Campaign Financing on Los Angeles area elections. Not available online at this time. To order, call 310-470-6590 x124.

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