2020 ME Senatorial race: on Government Reform

Sara Gideon: Worked in Maine to pass automatic voter registration

Sara Gideon: End influence of big money on our elections and officials

She'll work to end the influence of big money on our elections and officials in Washington by:
• Passing a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United;
• Passing the DISCLOSE Act, which would require dark money groups to disclose their donors;
• Supporting "No Budget, No Pay" legislation so that Congress isn't compensated if they fail to do the most basic part of their job: passing a budget;
• Banning former members of Congress from becoming lobbyists.

Betsy Sweet: Only Democrat to use Maine's taxpayer-funded election system

Sweet was the only Democrat who used Maine's taxpayer-funded election system, which won't be available to her on the federal level. She ran with a progressive agenda including single-payer health care, an hourly minimum wage of $15 and gun control.

Sara Gideon: $500 fine for campaign finance ethics violation

Gideon has drawn the most attention for reimbursed contributions to federal causes, but the commission focused on two $250 payments to the House Democratic Campaign Committee and now-U.S. Rep. Jared Golden's state-level political committee in 2016 that were originally made under Gideon's name but were reimbursed by the political committee.

Contributing in someone else's name is illegal on the state and federal levels. A Gideon spokesperson expressed support for the decision, saying the commission "continued its tradition of fairness" and supported Gideon's attorney's position that the violations were minor.

Susan Rice: Supports National Voter Registration Day

Betsy Sweet: Publicly funded federal election system