The League of Women Voters of Northern Fairfield County is hosting a program tonight at Western Connecticut State University about Campaign Financing in Connecticut.  The event at Warner Hall, on the midtown campus, is at 7pm and will feature Elona Vaisnys.

Since 2005, when it was signed into law, the Connecticut Citizens’ Election Program has been providing publicly funded grants to run election campaigns for seats in the state legislature and for state offices.  CEP funds come from the sale of abandoned properties in the state and from donations to the Citizens’ Election Fund.

CEP constitutes 0.0001% of the state budget.

Vaisnys says state elections may sink back to pay-to-play and special interests would again fund all candidates because of the budget stalemate.  The Republican backed-budget, approved by the General Assembly over the weekend, included elimination of funding for the CEP.  Governor Malloy has threatened to veto the budget, sending the program into renewed uncertainty.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization of men and women, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.