To counter the dependence of candidates on large donors, and to even the playing field, some systems provide public funding for political campaigns. To be credible and effective, an equitable formula to divide the funds among competing candidates and parties is generally developed and used. Recipients are accountable for using the funds as intended, and usually for providing a financial report when the elections are over.
Public funding programs have eligibility requirements to determine which parties or candidates are entitled to receive funds. These requirements are used to differentiate between serious and frivolous candidates and parties. A requirement frequently used is to have obtained a certain percentage of the vote in the past election, or to have a certain number of elected officials in the government. Some systems have matching requirements, where the candidate or party has to raise a certain amount of money before becoming eligible.
Eligibility requirements that are reasonable and equitable aid in ensuring integrity in a public funding program and help avoid the situation where one candidate or party receives the bulk of public funds, while other parties receive little or none. One way to ensure requirements are fair is to open them up to public comments before they are adopted. This can also be done to ensure the formula adopted to divide the funds up among the eligible parties is also fair.
Each system has its own regulations and restrictions on the use of the public funds. A common restriction is that the funds can only be used for the purchase of broadcasting time (see Access to Media.) There can also be restrictions placed on the amount of private funds that can be accepted by the candidate or party once they have accepted public funds. Logical restrictions that are easily understood and are applied equitably, can help maintain integrity in the use of the public financing.
