With less than 100 days until the election, campaign finance is a topic that everybody in Washington, D.C., and on TV is talking about. Yet according to a recent poll by the Washington Post and the Pew Research Center, most Americans are unfamiliar with outside campaign spending and don’t know important terms and concepts.

Despite unprecedented spending at all levels of elections this cycle, the Washington Post reports that “three-quarters of Americans have either heard 'a little' (36 percent) or 'nothing at all' (39 percent) about 'increased spending in this year’s presidential election by outside groups not associated with the candidates or campaigns.'"

To be fair, a lot of the jargon and technicalities that come with understanding the world of campaign finance make it difficult for the average voter to understand these issues. Some issues confuse even political press, including how and why a rapidly growing amount of ads are sponsored by entities that don't have to disclose their donors. 

Campaign finance issues matter to voters as shown by May 2012 Democracy Corps poll. The poll reports “voters believe that Washington is so corrupted by big banks, big donors and corporate lobbyists that it no longer works for the middle class,” 60 percent believing “candidates ought to tackle money in politics in order to make government work for the middle class.” Indeed “nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of all voters, and majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents, believe there should be common sense limits on the amount of money people can contribute to political campaigns.”

How did we get here and why does it matter? Because of John Roberts’ Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC and related cases, spending limits were removed which protected our fragile democracy from complete domination by the 1%. Now, billions of dollars are being poured into this presidential campaign, which is set to become the most expensive federal election in history. Billionaires determined to squash the political and economic interests of working families and the middle class continue their rampage on democracy through attempts to buy elections. While Democrats’ coffers decline from 2010, Republican war chests are more bloated than ever.

In 1976, the Supreme Court noted the potential for political contributions to corrupt politicians who may feel a need to repay their donors. “Of almost equal concern as the danger of actual quid pro quo arrangements is the impact of the appearance of corruption stemming from public awareness of the opportunities for abuse inherent in a regime of large financial contribution,” Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 27 (1976). In fact, only about 50 people are responsible for more than half of all the Super PAC cash. If that outsized influence doesn’t create an appearance of corruption in the eyes of the justices, what does?

It’s important voters educate themselves on the issue of campaign finance spending. Political spending on elections has the power to drastically change the way we live our lives and see our democracy. Through a series of blog posts, we will attempt to deconstruct campaign finance so that in November and beyond, voters will have all the tools needed to reclaim our democracy.

To learn more about who is spending money on 2012 elections, visit The Center for Responsive Politics (Open Secrets) here and the Sunlight Foundation here.