This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will, as I previously wrote, likely determine the constitutional bounds of public campaign financing programs across the country. In that case, McComish v. Bennett, the Court will rule on whether it is legal to provide publicly financed candidates with additional public funds when they are faced with heavy spending by privately financed opponents or independent expenditure groups.
Those arguing that the law is unconstitutional claim that Arizona’s public financing law impermissibly limits the speech (in this case spending equals speech) of privately financed candidates and independent third party spenders because those individuals or groups know that their act of spending money will trigger a public financed candidates ability to get more money. Put another way, petitioners claim that if privately financed candidates and independent expenditure groups know that if they spend money, a publicly financed candidate will get more public funds, then they may chose not to spend that money at all.
First, there’s dubious evidence that privately financed candidates and independent expenditures groups have in fact opted not to spend money under Arizona’s public financing law. Even if political actors think twice before spending money, that does not mean that their speech is severely burdened. Second, petitioners seem to suggest that Arizona enact a less efficient public campaign financing system. Among other reasons, Arizona created a public financing system with a so-called “trigger” provision because it allows publicly funded candidates to have enough money to remain competitive, while preserving public funds by not wasting money on candidates who do not need additional public funds. This, for instance, is preferable to a public financing program which just provides candidates with a huge lump sum grant, whether they need the money or not. [Read more]
The U.S. Supreme Court will today hear the first challenge since the 1970s to laws regarding public financing systems for political campaigns. OpenSecrets Blog will be at the Court’s chambers covering the oral argument, but for now, here’s a synopsis of the case at hand:
The Case: McComish v. Bennett
The Issue: Arizona’s public financing system is set up to award an initial grant to participating candidates. Then, over the course of the election, additional funds — up to two times the initial amount — can be doled out to participating candidates. These so-called matching funds are allocated when certain spending thresholds are crossed by either privately funded candidates in the race or outside special interest groups that make independent expenditures in opposition to a publicly funded candidate (or in support of his or her opponent). In this legal challenge, the constitutionality of these triggers is being called into question.
The Supremes: Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court has leaned toward deregulation when it comes to campaign finance issues. A 5-4 majority, led by Roberts, created a political firestorm in January last year when it overturned prohibitions on corporate money funding political advertisements in its Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. In 2008, a 5-4 majority of the court also rejected a campaign finance regulation known as the “Millionaires’ Amendment” in Davis v. Federal Election Commission. [Read more]
Here is an important NYTimes editorial on Arizona’s campaign finance system, which has been ludicrously — and perilously — challenged by the right; and the Roberts Court has (of course) played along, suspending the key law within that system. Will they restore it? That case is before them now (with the Brennan Center arguing for reinstatement of the law).
Even if the Court does do the right (and therefore unexpected) thing, however, Arizona still has many miles to go before it has elections fit for a democracy. Beyond all questions of campaign finance, there’s also the essential matter of the state’s notoriously shady voting system. That too must be overhauled (like all our voting systems nationwide), or else the campaign finance laws won’t make much difference even if they’re absolutely perfect. (The group doing most to right the voting system in that state is AUDITAZ, at
http://audit-az.blogspot.com/.)
But it’s still necessary to resist the right’s attempt(s) to push the campaign finance system back to those dark days when Richard Nixon could take heaps of secret cash from interested millionaires, including mobsters, former (?) fascists and the generals who ran Brazil and Greece.
Until not long ago, Arizona politics were an open sewer of corruption. But the state adopted a system of public campaign financing in 1998, and, since then, more than half of all candidates for office in Arizona have opted for this money.
Not anymore. Last June, in the middle of a political campaign, the Supreme Court — which seems at times to be on a crusade to remake the American electoral landscape — thrust itself into an ongoing lawsuit and froze the crucial element of the financing system. [Read more]
The Supreme Court has decided to review a 1998 Arizona law which provides public financing to qualified candidates. This decision will likely define the constitutional boundaries of public financing laws across the country.
Critics claim programs that provide public funding for candidates are welfare for politicians, that the public should not be forced to support candidates with whom they disagree, and that public funds could be better spent in other areas. Proponents, on the other hand, contend that these programs provide qualified candidates who may not have access to campaign funds with the opportunity to run competitive campaigns, allow candidates to spend time with all of their constituents and not just those who can provide campaign donations, reduce corruption or the appearance of corruption, either of which may arise as a result of private contributions, and increase public confidence in their elected officials.
In an effort to allow publicly financed candidates to remain competitive in the face of heavy opposition spending from privately financed opponents or independent expenditure groups, many public campaign finance laws provide so-called “rescue funds.” These rescue fund provisions now stand on constitutionally shaky ground because of the Court’s 2008 decision in Davis v. FEC. [Read more]