After two cycles, it's fair to say that Connecticut's Citizens' Election Program has been a resounding success. With more than three quarters of the seats in the General Assembly and all of the statewide seats held by Clean Elections officials, Connecticut has truly seen the impact of taking big money out of politics and putting voters back in.

State Rep. Bob Godfrey (D) recently commented on the close of the legislative session and how marked the change really is with the Citizens' Election Program:

By: David Donnelly and Adam Smith

Whether it was apologizing to BP, the Fair Elections Now Act passing out of a U.S. House committee, or the Supreme Court declaring that corporations were people when it comes to spending money in elections, 2010 was a big year for news about money in the political process. Here's our top ten list. Leave your suggestions in the comments.

The New Haven Register reports that Connecticut Secretary of State and potential gubernatorial candidate, Susan Bysiewicz, plans to file a “friend of the court” brief today with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in support of the Citizens' Election Program.

The Baltimore Sun has an editorial today that urges Maryland lawmakers to push ahead with Clean Elections legislation next session despite an unfavorable court ruling in Connecticut.

"The bottom line is that nothing in Judge Underhill's opinion should deter the Maryland General Assembly from moving forward with reforms next year."

A federal court on Friday upheld Connecticut's ban on campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, part of a large package of ethics and campaign reform measures passed following the conviction of former Gov. John Rowland.

When Gov. Rowland of Connecticut pled guilty to corruption charges in 2005, he acknowledged accepting bribes from contractors in return for awarding those contractors business with the state.

The millennials, those of us who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s got a lot of attention in the 2008 election cycle. Yes we were excited about the 2008 election, but were we actually going to cast our ballot on Election Day?

Clean Elections programs expanded in this week’s election as voters in six states showed their approval of the system that gives citizens greater authority of their government. At least 376 Clean Elections officials were elected on Tuesday, and that number could grow as more election results are determined. See the full release here.

Arizona

It’s down to the wire and candidates on both sides of the political aisle are trading barbs on corruption and campaign contributions.

The New York Times this morning is running a strong and positive story about Connecticut’s Clean Elections program, spelling out its ability to level the playing field among candidates and reduce their need to constantly ask for money.The state this year became the third, after Maine and Arizona, to implement full public financing of statewide elections.

In the article “Connecticut Hopefuls Flock to Public Financing,” Peter Applebome reports:

Wow. We've been talking about this for months and knew that participation in Connecticut's first round of Clean Elections would be high, but seeing final numbers come out doesn't make it any less impressive.