How Can We Challenge Big Money in Politics? Ft. Dr. Dan McMillan, PhD

What if the way to get big money out of politics is to make every voter a donor?

In this episode I sit down with Dan McMillan, a historian, former Brooklyn prosecutor, and founder of Make Voters the Donors, to break down his proposed reform called Voter Dollars. The idea, as Dan explains it: every registered voter would get an account of public campaign cash, one hundred dollars in a presidential year and fifty for the midterms, that they can only assign to the candidates they choose. With roughly 174 million registered voters, Dan argues that would give ordinary Americans enough collective giving power to compete with billionaires and special interests.

We trace how we got here, from the 1976 Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo that treated political money as protected speech, through Citizens United and the rise of super PACs. Dan makes his case for why public financing is the reform most likely to survive the courts, and he points to Seattle, which has run a democracy voucher system since 2017 and recently voted to renew it. He also lays out his swing state strategy focused on Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

I press him on the hard questions too: whether tax dollars should fund campaigns while the country runs deep deficits, whether reform should start local rather than national, and whether either party in Washington would ever get behind it. As always, curiosity over confrontation, with the strongest objections handled fairly.

Learn more about Dan's work at https://makevotersthedonors.org and https://www.drdanmcmillan.com

Watch the full conversation: https://youtube.com/live/BZUw_Zb3_Hc
Listen on Apple Podcasts: [Apple Podcasts episode link]

Join the discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/policysolutions/

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations
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CONVERSATION PLATFORMS
HeadOn - A platform for contentious yet productive conversations. It's a place for hosted and unguided conversations where you can grow a following and enhance your conversations with AI features. Link: https://app.headon.ai/
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BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION
OtherWeb - An AI-based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk, helping you access diverse, unbiased content. Link: https://otherweb.com/
VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY
Equal Vote Coalition & STAR Voting - Advocating for voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally, eliminating wasted votes and strategic voting. Link: https://www.equal.vote/star
Future is Now Coalition (FiNC) - A grassroots movement working to restore democracy through transparency, accountability, and innovative technology while empowering citizens and transforming American political discourse. Link: https://futureis.org/
POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT
Independent Center - Resources for independent political thinking and civic engagement. Link: https://www.independentcenter.org/
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