The amount of public funding for each race must be high enough for the voters to receive sufficient information about the candidate to make their choice. The total cost of funding at this level for all federal races--President, Senate, and House--is approximately $1.8 billion per year, or Just $6 for each of the nearly 300 million citizens in our country. This amount wouldn't be paid directly by each citizen. These funds would come out of the federal budget whether from the general fund or from revenue raised specifically to support public funding.

In making these calculations, we have made the following assumptions:

1. Campaign expenses will decline by at least 25% due to the elimination of fund raising costs other than for initial seed money.
2. At least one candidate in each race will not accept public funds but rather use his/her personal resources or raise private funds in accordance with current laws.
3. All candidates must generate broad public support to meet the qualifying requirements to receive public funds.
4. Incumbents will be challenged more frequently in primaries by candidates with financing sufficient for voters to learn of their ideas and ideals.
5. Each candidate who meets the qualifying requirements regardless of the number of competitors in a primary will receive the allocated funds to assure that voters learn about lesser-known candidates.
6. Special elections, occurring at random for various federal offices, cost an additional $30 million per year.