California Proposition 4 seeks to lift ban on public campaign financing

Proposition 4, one of 14 measures on the November 3 California ballot, would repeal California’s general ban on public funding of campaigns. If approved, the measure would allow most cities and the state to establish public-financing programs. The League of Women Voters urged the state Legislature to place the measure on the ballot.

The measure would overturn a 1988 law that prohibits state and local governments from using taxpayer money to provide campaign funding to candidates. While it creates no program itself, it allows jurisdictions to create voluntary programs, changing the rules for local government spending on political campaigns.