The Washington Post: Virginians want Campaign Finance Reform along with their New Maps

Whether you like them or loathe them, there’s no question that Virginia’s new voting maps will shake up the state’s General Assembly and congressional delegation. Many legislators have been drawn out of the districts they’ve represented or been grouped into districts with one or more other incumbents. Given Virginia’s feeble campaign finance laws, our next ethics question is: Will our future legislators answer to the constituents of their new districts or to the same huge financial backers who influenced their predecessors?

Virginia’s lack of campaign finance laws is infamous. In 2020, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Coalition for Integrity rated Virginia 46th among the states for ethics, including campaign finance. We have no limits on the amount, source or use (including personal use) of campaign contributions. Legislation to fix this problem has been proposed repeatedly since Gov. L. Douglas Wilder’s Ethics Commission recommended reforms in 1992.

Late last year, the highly respected Wason Center conducted a survey commissioned by citizen advocates from the Virginia chapter of American Promise (for which I am a volunteer) and VaOurWay. Results show that large majorities of Virginians, across party lines, want campaign finance reform. Especially compelling are the 78 percent of Virginians who favor limiting campaign funding from big donors and 88 percent who support campaign finance transparency.  

Our 2022 General Assembly session started Jan. 12. How will our legislators improve Virginia’s campaign finance laws?

— JoAnn Kennedy Flanagan, Fairfax