Campaign finance

[1] The need to raise money to maintain expensive political campaigns diminishes ties to a representative democracy because of the influence large contributors have over politicians.

[7] Most countries that rely on private donations to fund campaigns require extensive disclosure of contributions, frequently including information such as the name, employer and address of donors.

Not all government subsidies take the form of money; some systems require campaign materials (often air time on television) to be provided at very low rates to the candidates.

[citation needed] In many countries, such as Germany and the United States, campaigns can be funded by a combination of private and public money.

[12] In some electoral systems, candidates who win an election or secure a minimum number of ballots are allowed to apply for a rebate to the government.

The concept of political finance can affect various parts of a society's institutions which support governmental and social success.

"[14] In a study on Global Political Finance Regulation by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), researchers Magnus Öhman, Hani Zainulbhai, Jack Santucci, and Marcin Welecki identified several common understandings on what international society has determined integral to the regulation of political finance:[15] Their study also affirmed the perspective laid down by the Council of Europe, when discussing the concept of effective regulation of campaign financing: "[We are] convinced that raising public awareness on the issues of prevention and fight against corruption in the field of funding of political parties is essential to the good functioning of democratic institutions.