By Mike Sacks, From Legal Times

Harvard Law School professor Larry Lessig announced on Tuesday his intention to run for president on the single issue of election and campaign-finance reform.

In a series of videos released on the web, Lessig says he wants to be a “referendum president,” voted into office on the basis of his Citizen Equality Act of 2017, which would incorporate existing proposals by members of Congress and reform groups to promise an “equal right to vote,” “equal representation” and “citizen-funded elections.”

“That single purpose would put overwhelming political pressure on Congress to do what the people demanded,” Lessig said in one of the videos. If the bill passes, he would “step aside and the elected vice president, a kind of president in waiting, would step in.”

Lessig, however, would enter the race for the Democratic nomination only if he meets his goal of raising $1 million by Labor Day. Upon reaching that goal, he would crowdsource the details of the Citizen Equality Act for a Jan. 1 introduction.

Rick Hasen, an election law expert and professor at University of California, Irvine School of Law, sees Lessig’s bid as a way of influencing the candidates for the Democratic nomination, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

“If the point is to win as president with a pledge to run as essentially a single-issue candidate and then resign upon achieving success, that would be pollyannaish,” Hasen said. “But it’s not clear that is the goal. If the goal is to inject the campaign-finance reform issue into the [presidential] campaign more than it is now, and to move the eventual Democratic nominee on the issue, it could be quite a smart plan.”

Clinton and Sanders have hardly been silent on the issue. In May, Clinton said she would appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices committed to reversing Citizens United, the court’s 2010 decision striking down limits on how much corporations and labor unions could spend during an election. Sanders has gone further, seeking to distinguish himself as a grassroots, small-donor-supported candidate going up against a multimillion-dollar Clinton campaign.

Last week, Sanders gave a 13-minute speech on the Senate floor dedicated to campaign finance and election reform and introduced legislation to make voter registration automatic and designate federal election day as a public holiday. Lessig’s Citizen Equality Act includes both ideas.

In spring 2014, Lessig launched MayDay PAC to raise money from small donors to give to candidates for office who supported its mission. After the PAC spent $10 million, none of the candidates won.

In his 2012 book, “Republic Lost,” Lessig imagined an Oprah-like candidate doing exactly what he is setting out to do in this election cycle.

“Since he didn’t get that, I guess he figures he’s the next best thing,” Hasen said. “He’d only have to poll 1 percent to make it into the Democratic debate. If he can do that, he can be on the stage for one debate. That’s more than a campaign finance reformer usually has.”

Lessig recently stepped aside from MayDay and was replaced by Fordham University School of Law’s Zephyr Teachout, herself a former challenger to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s successful 2014 re-election.

“Teachout did much better that expected running against a Democratic candidate that did not inspire much passion from those on the left in New York,” Hasen said.

IMAGE: Lawrence Lessig. Photo: Justin Ide/Harvard University News Office

For more on this story go to: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/legaltimes/id=1202734455987/Lessig-Mounts-Presidential-Bid-on-CampaignReform-Platform#ixzz3ienJ888m