Help Iowa raise its
VOICE
with Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections
You or your organization can get involved in several ways:
Join Us
Voter-Owned Iowa is a campaign of Iowa Citizens
for Community Improvement (CCI). Iowa CCI is a membership based
organization over 3,600 members strong. Our power is in our numbers.
The more members we have the more power we have to get action on
the issues we care about. If you want to see Iowa be "Voter-Owned"
become a member of our "Team Democracy!"
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Encourage your
elected officials to support Voter-Owned Elections
Elected officials need to hear from you,
their constituency. Email, call and/or write your state representative
and state senator. Share with them why you support Voter-Owned Elections
and why they should, too. Find your legislators here.
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Sign
& circulate the petition
We are collecting thousands of signatures
throughout the state to be presented to the State Legislature. The
signature collection effort is designed to educate the public and
garner support for legislation that would enact a Voter-Owned Elections
Law in Iowa to put government back in the hands of the people.
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Help spread
the word
If we want the people of Iowa to have a
VOICE, they need to understand what clean elections are. Below is
information on how to host an information meeting, host a speaker,
and write a letter to the editor about Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections.
If you'd like brochures, button, a DVD of The Road to Clean Elections
- a 14-minute informational video highlighting the success Clean
(Voter-Owned) Elections has had in other states - or any other material,
contact Adam at adam@iowacci.org.
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Host a Voter-Owned
Elections informational meeting in your area or
Invite a Voter-Owned Elections speaker to your union, organization
or congregation.
This is a great way to educate and get more
people involved in the campaign for Voter-Owned Elections in Iowa.
- Screen The Road to Clean Elections, a
14-minute informational video, highlighting the success Clean
(Voter-Owned) Elections has had in other states, produced by Public
Campaign.
- Staff who are knowledgeable about the
system will help organize and attend the meeting.
- Part of the meeting can be a strategy
session to help identify ways to move this issue forward in the
media, state legislature, and at a grassroots level.
If you know at least 8-10 people in your
area or are a part of an organization who would be interested in
attending a meeting on Voter-Owned Elections, please let us know.
We've made presentations for retirees' group, churces, the American
Legion , community groups, and in people's homes.
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Write
a letter to the editor in support of Voter-Owned Elections.
Letters to the editor are the most read
section of any newspaper. They are a great and affordable way to
get the message out about Voter-Owned Elections. If you want help
drafting a letter, contact Adam at adam@iowacci.org or call 515/255-0800.
Or click here
for a submission form.
Here are some talking points to help
get your letter started:
- Voter-Owned Elections provides qualifying
candidates - who agree to limit their spending and reject contributions
from private sources - with a set amount of public funds to run
for office.
- Voter-Owned Elections is not an attempt
to patch up the current system. It is instead designed as an alternative
way for candidates to finance their campaigns. It aims to end
politicians' reliance on special interest money by offering in
its place a limited but competitive amount of money from the fund.
- Iowa needs Voter-Owned Elections to help
restore the principle of “one person, one vote” to
elections, reduce the influence of special interest money on candidates,
and restore public confidence in government and elections.
- Voter-Owned Elections is constitutional
as long as the system is voluntary. Candidates do not have to
choose Voter-Owned Elections. They can reject public funds and
continue to finance their campaigns the “old fashioned”
way, by raising private money.
- Poll after poll shows overwhelming support
for Voter-Owned Elections! A poll conducted by The Mellman Group,
Inc. of likely Iowa caucus participants in September of 1999 found
that 72% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans favor a voluntary
Voter-Owned Elections Law based on the successful initiates in
Arizona and Maine.
Where to send your letter:
- Des Moines Register, 715 Locust Avenue,
Des Moines, IA 50309 or Email to: letters@dmreg.com
- Fort Dodge Messenger, 713 Central P.O.
Box 659, Fort Dodge, IA 50501
http://www.messengernews.net/letter_to_editor.asp
- Cedar Rapids Gazette,
500 3rd Avenue SE PO Box 511, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
- The Daily Nonpareil, 535 West Broadway,
Suite 300, Council Bluffs, IA 51503
- Telegraph
Herald, PO Box 688, Dubuque, IA 52004-0688
or Email to: THletters@wcinet.com
- The Herald Register, 813 5th Avenue PO
Box 360, Grinnell, IA 50112
- Times-Republican, PO Box 1300, Marshalltown,
IA 50158-1300
- Sioux Center News, PO Box 238, Sioux
City, IA 51101
- Waterloo Courier, PO Box 540, Waterloo,
IA 50704-0540
https://secure.townnews.com/ia/wcfcourier.com/letters/
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Pass
a resolution supporting Voter-Owned Elections
Your organization/group can pass a resolution
supporting Voter-Owned Elections:
Resolution: Voluntary
Voter-Owned Elections Law
WHEREAS, big money and special interest
contributions unduly influence our state's election process and
legislative policies; and
WHEREAS, this
influence violates the rights of all Iowans to equal and meaningful
participation in the democratic process; and
WHEREAS, voluntary voter-owned election
laws in other states have helped to restore democracy and public
confidence in the election process;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Iowa pass
a voluntary voter-owned elections law. Under this law an election
system will be established in which candidates could choose to no
longer raise money from private sources. Instead, each participating
candidate would receive a set amount of money from a publicly financed
election fund. Spending by the candidate would be limited to the
amount they get from the election fund.
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Donate
to CCI's Voter-Owned Elections Campaign
Support from the people of Iowa is
critical to helping us spread the word and push for change. Your
additional investment in our work gives us the resources we need
to get other Iowans on board and build the movement to take back
our democracy!
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