Voter education and campaign finance reform:

     The Elections.gov model would create a user-friendly centralized website utilizing existing technology to generate complete election information (such as important dates, registration info, sample ballots, links to candidates, voting locations, etc.) for all citizens. It will always require time and effort to be well-informed about each of the dozens of candidates typically appearing on an election ballot, but within reason, the government should make that task as easy as possible. The Elections.gov site could be promoted in public spaces, and all political ads would include the brief public service statement, “This message was paid for by XYZ. Find complete election information at Elections.gov.” This way, no matter how much money is spent on political advertising the viewer will be directed toward the comprehensive resource. Additionally, Elections.gov would contain a candidate-only discussion board where voters could become informed about the issues and candidate positions in a highly efficient primary source fashion.

     With relatively little cost, this Constitutionally sound approach mitigates the power of unlimited spending, and protects political expression while providing citizens quick and easy access to organized election information.

     (At the state level, the North Carolina Voter Education Act is an excellent step in this direction).