Principal Investigator: Kenneth R. Mayer, Professor of Political Science.

Mayer has written extensively about the Wisconsin and Minnesota campaign finance system, and served as a consultant to Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson's 1997 Blue Ribbon Commission on Campaign Finance Reform (Don Kettl, Chair). His work on campaign finance reform includes the following publications:

"Political Reality and Unforeseen Consequences: Why Campaign Finance Reform is Too Important To Be Left To The Lawyers," University of Richmond Law Review 37:1069-1110 (No. 4, May 2003).

"Answering Ayres: Requiring Campaign Contributors to Remain Anonymous Would Not Resolve Corruption Concerns." Regulation 24 (No. 4, Winter):24-29. 2001.

"Hey, Wait a Minute: The Assumptions Behind the Case for Campaign Finance Reform." Gerald C. Lubenow, ed., A User's Guide to Campaign Finance Reform (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001)

Issue Advocacy in Wisconsin: Analysis of the 1998 Elections and A Proposal for Enhanced Disclosure. September 1999.

Public Financing and Electoral Competition in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Citizens' Research Foundation. April 1998.

Campaign Finance Reform in the States. Report prepared for and presented to the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Campaign Finance Reform (State of Wisconsin). February. Portions reprinted in Anthony Corrado, Thomas E. Mann, Daniel R. Ortiz, Trevor Potter, and Frank J. Sorauf, ed. 1997. Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1997).

"The Impact of Public Financing on Electoral Competitiveness: Evidence from Wisconsin, 1964-1990." Legislative Studies Quarterly 20:69-88 (No. 1, 1995, with John M. Wood).