Kirsten Gillibrand unveils plan to give every voter $600 to donate to political candidates

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand unveiled her first major policy initiative Wednesday to get “big, unaccountable money out of politics” and give every voter up to $600 to donate to political candidates running for federal office.

Ms. Gillibrand’s Clean Elections Plan would allow every eligible voter to opt in to receive what she calls “Democracy Dollars,” which they could use toward the federal campaign of their choice.

“Big money in politics has bred a culture where special interests and wealthy megadonors — who are overwhelmingly white, male and older — have all the influence over our elections,” the New York senator wrote in a Medium post. “By leveling the playing field of who’s powering federal campaigns, my plan amplifies the voices of Americans who haven’t been heard for too long — young people, women, and people of color.”

Under the Clean Elections Plan, every eligible voter would be able to register for vouchers to donate up to $100 in a primary election and $100 in a general election for House, Senate and presidential contests for a total maximum donation of $600, Ms. Gillibrand told NBC News. The “Democracy Dollars” could only be used toward elections in the voter’s state, although they could be used for House candidates outside the voter’s district, NBC News reported. Political candidates would also have to voluntarily agree to forgo any contributions larger than $200 per donor.

“It will change who has a seat at the table and who gets elected in this country within one election cycle,” Ms. Gillibrand told NBC News.

The senator didn’t say what the plan would cost taxpayers but she did reveal how she planned to pay for it.

“I would eliminate the loophole that makes taxpayers subsidize excessively high CEO compensation: CEOs making 25 times the median salary of their employees or more than $1 million, whichever is less,” she explained in her Medium post. “That change would raise over $60 billion in ten years.

“Changing the way we fund elections and attacking political corruption is the only way to accomplish any of our boldest, most progressive policies and truly help working families,” she wrote. “The Green New Deal, Medicare for All, lowering prescription drug prices, common sense gun reform — accomplishing any of this depends on weakening the corrosive effect of money in politics.”