Giffords Signs ‘Voters First Pledge’ to Make Elections Fair

Former Director of Clean Elections Institute Hails Giffords’ Record: Clean Elections Would Not Have Survived ‘Without Your Strong Commitment’

TUCSON - Congressional Candidate Gabrielle Giffords today pledged her support for Federal campaign finance reform by signing the Voters First Pledge, which calls for public financing of election campaigns, restrictions on gifts and meals from special interests, and full disclosure of lobbyist contributions. The Pledge is endorsed by Common Cause, Public Campaign Action Fund, Public Citizen, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Giffords’ strong record in support of campaign finance reform and financial transparency is well-known in Arizona. The Giffords campaign today released a letter from the former Executive Director of the Clean Elections Institute, Sharlene Bozack, which stated that without Giffords’ defense of the Clean Elections system in the legislature, “Arizona would not have such a system today.”

Bozack, who served as the Executive Director of the Clean Elections Institute from 1999-2001, attested to Giffords’ support for Arizona’s Clean Elections System. The letter, dated July 6, 2006, and addressed to Giffords, states that “without your strong commitment to seeing that the [Clean Elections] law not be overturned, the State of Arizona would not have such a system today.” The letter hailed Giffords for having “stood firm in your support of the system when it was under challenges at the state legislature,” and noted that Giffords “helped strategize with me to make sure the system did not get overturned in the legislature.”

Giffords also has a record of fighting to preserve fair elections by ensuring that a paper trail exists for voting machines. In 2004, Giffords authored a Senate floor amendment to the Help America Votes Act (HB 2083). Her amendment required all voting machines purchased after April 1, 2004 to provide a paper statement of each person’s vote. The amendment was approved and the Senate passed the bill with Giffords’ amendment.

The “Voters First Pledge” signed by Giffords commits to:

• Making Elections Fair — Establishing and enforcing campaign spending limits by providing a set amount of public funding for all candidates who agree to take no private contributions.

• Restoring Accountability — Passing and enforcing meaningful new restrictions on gifts and travel from lobbyists and other powerful interests for members of Congress.

• Protecting Voters’ Right-to-Know — Requiring full disclosure on the internet of all lobbyists’ contributions and any fundraising help members of Congress get from lobbyists.

Common Cause is a nonprofit advocacy group founded in 1970 that is committed to honest, open, and accountable government, as well as encouraging citizen participation in democracy.

For a copy of Ms. Bozack’s letter, or for a copy of Giffords’ Voters First Pledge, contact the Giffords campaign at 520-358-4531.