Citizens United? A Participatory Analysis of Campaign Finance Reform in Connecticut and Minnesota

States, once called the "laboratories of democracy," have observed and reacted to the current campaign finance schemes in different ways. The values of liberty and equality are inherently in conflict when discussing campaign finance reform. This thesis examines the extent to which state campaign finance schemes influence the participation and diversity of state citizens in state elections, and the impact of certain of those programs on the state political apparatus. Rather than evaluating the "success" of existing campaign finance reform initiatives as a conflict between expanding liberty (and thus diminishing equality) or expanding equality (and thus diminishing liberty), this thesis argues that campaign finance reform initiatives should aim to maximize political participation.