With vast amounts of money flowing to political candidates and unprecedented corruption, it is no surprise that Americans are more frustrated than ever with how broken the system has become. They want the system to change, and this year voters in key states will have the chance to vote directly on campaign finance reforms through referenda that have qualified for the ballot.
Record spending on state and federal races is defining the 2026 election cycle, with an unprecedented share of the money coming from billionaire megadonors, corporations, and “dark money” nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors. The trend of ever-rising spending has continued cycle after cycle since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC.
