Study criticizes Ohio's high limits on giving to political campaigns

A lower limit would reduce the influence of big-money donors, an expert said.
By MARC KOVAC
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Ohio's campaign contribution limits are well above other states in the Midwest, making it easier for high-dollar donors to influence public policy and harder for average citizens to take their good ideas to the electorate, according to a study released Monday.
"It's bad for public policy, it's bad for getting ordinary people involved in the system," said Suzanne Novak, deputy director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.
Novak was in Columbus to discuss the findings of the center's Campaign Finance in Ohio research report. It's one of five comparable studies on Midwestern states conducted by the center (online at www.brennancenter.org), which calls itself a nonpartisan public policy and law institute that focuses on issues of democracy and justice.
The center reviewed campaign finance laws in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin with a focus on contribution limits, disclosure, public financing of elections and enforcement.
Some findings
Among the findings, according to Novak:
Ohio ranked highest among 37 states with contribution limits on state and county political parties to statewide candidates, with a combined 1.6 million allowed.
The state ranked third highest in limits on contributions by individuals and political action committees, both set at 20,000.
Campaign finance laws should require limits low enough to reduce the influence of big-money donors on officials, reduce the risk of actual or perceived corruption and force candidates to reach out to a greater number of ordinary citizens, Novak said.
Ohio's limits are "absolutely ineffective. ... 1.6 million is not any sort of meaningful limit," she said.
Ohio did fare better in terms of disclosure, with online access to campaign finance reports. But deadlines for filing exclude last-minute spending before elections (meaning voters can't find out about such expenditures until after the contests).
"A lot of election spending goes on right before the election," Novak said. "The public wants to know who's making those contributions. ... They won't find out until after the election."
The Brennan report recommends the state reduce contributions from individuals, PACs and political parties, restore a ban on all corporate giving, require pre-election reports on last-minute expenditures and implement a system enabling the public funding of campaigns.
mkovac@dixcom.com.