Billions of dollars are spent on US election campaigns, significantly higher than in Australia. Yet on a per capita basis, the margins had been similar until a significant increase in spending in recent campaigns.
During the 2015-16 Australian federal election, political parties spent $US5.6 per person (US$136.4 million in total) while in the 2016 US elections, parties spent $US7.9 per person (US$2.57 billion in total).
For the Australian 2018-19 federal election campaign, parties forked out $US11.84 per person (US$295 million in total), while in 2020, US political parties spent $27.41 per person ($US9.02 billion in total) to attract votes.
Expenditure on election campaigns, per capita (in US dollars, converted at current exchange rate)
