judgesonmerit.org

On Monday, 3/28, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in McComish v. Bennett, a case that challenges a portion of Arizona’s Citizens Clean Elections Act. The ruling could have serious consequences for states that use public financing to allow elected judges to run for the bench without having to raise campaign funds.

The challenged part of the law allows a publicly financed candidate, facing an opponent spending private funds, to receive an extra infusion of public money if their opponent’s spending goes over a certain amount. This “trigger provision” ensures that publicly financed candidates won’t be at a disadvantage, limited to a certain level of spending, while their privately financed opponents are free to spend as much cash as they can raise.

At issue is whether or not the provisions represent a limitation on the rights of candidates who choose not to accept public financing. According to our partners at the Justice at Stake Campaign:

[a] federal judge declared the Arizona provision unconstitutional, saying it violated the First Amendment because it caused candidates without public funding to limit their campaigning, fundraising and spending of campaign money. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying the provision imposed “only a minimal burden on FirstAmendment rights,” that there was no evidence of it chilling free speech rights, and that it was needed to fight a perception of corruption.

Four states – North Carolina, New Mexico, Wisconsin and West Virginia – have turned to public financing plans, to help alleviate the need for campaign fundraising by appellate judge candidates. A ruling against the Citizens Clean Elections Act would likely invalidate similar trigger provisions contained in all four of those plans. Candidates who opt into public financing in future judicial elections will be forced to limit their spending, while candidates who choose to raise their own funds will be free to spend as much as they can amass. How many aspiring appellate judges will choose public financing, knowing that they won’t be able to respond if their opponents outspend them?

While we respect any attempt to mitigate the influence of campaign spending on the outcome of judicial elections, we think that a better solution is to completely eliminate campaign financing as part of the process. Let appellate judges reach the bench based on their experience, skills and qualifications, not on the back of a huge campaign war chest. That’s why we support Merit Selection for appellate judges in Pennsylvania.

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