Legislation introduced today by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) offers an important first remedy for blunting the impact of the this year’s controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC (the ruling overturns federal and state bans on corporate and union financed election advertising during the run-up to election day, allowing corporations and other groups to spend whatever they want, whenever they want; see more here).
The legislation, entitled the DISCLOSE Act (in what is perhaps an acronym over-reach, it stands for Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections), would strengthen disclosure and disclaimer requirements for all election spending by independent entities (corporations, non-profits, 527s, unions, et al) and …
A few updates from the election reform advocacy community:
***On Monday, Durham’s city council unanimously approved a resolution asking for state permission to pursue local public campaign financing options. With its adoption, Durham joins the cities of Raleigh, Wilmington, and Greenville, who have all passed similar resolutions in recent months. The resolutions ask the General Assembly to pass legislation that would give permission to municipalities with more than 50,000 residents to explore public campaign financing options for non-partisan municipal elections. A bill passed by the state House in 2009, HB-120, grants this authorization, but it awaits approval in the state Senate. Read Durham blogger Nate Aspenson’s take.
***A new poll by the NC Center for …
The Orange County Progressive Democrats have organized a forum this Sunday to discuss the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling Citizens United v. FEC. The decision allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections with general treasury funds and is expected to bring even more special interest money into the political process.
Sunday’s forum will discuss the Constitutional and legal background of the ruling and current reform efforts that are being undertaken in response.
What: The Supreme Court Decision: A Disaster for Democracy
Where: Carrboro Century Center (100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro)
When: Sunday, April 11: 4-5:30
Who: Gene Nichol, UNC Law Professor and Director of the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity; Chase Foster, …
North Carolina’s judicial program continues to provide a model for money-in-politics reform efforts around the nation. Both New Mexico and Wisconsin have established programs that are based, in part, on North Carolina’s successful program. Now both West Virginia and Washington state are also following suit.
Last week the West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill 67-30 that would establish a public campaign financing pilot for elections to the state’s Supreme Court. This reform victory comes in the aftermath of several recent elections in West Virginia that were plagued by massive special interest spending. The perception of integrity in the state’s judiciary was widely seen as being compromised when several judges who benefited from …
This election year, North Carolina could see its highest participation rate ever for the state’s public campaign financing program for judicial elections.
Eleven of twelve candidates have declared their intent to participate in the state’s Voter-Owned Elections program during the 2010 cycle. These include both candidates for state Supreme Court and nine candidates for four Court of Appeals seats. The only candidate who has not yet filed their intent is current Court of Appeals judge Ann Marie Calabria. (Note: One of the declared candidates, Court of Appeals judge Sanford Steelman, has declared his intent, but will not qualify to receive public money because he faces no opposition).
Under the program which was created in 2002, candidates must …
In a 5-4 decision issued this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court radically altered campaign finance law, obliterating the long-held distinction between spending by individuals and spending by corporations.
The case, Citizens United v. FEC, dealt with a challenge to an FEC ruling barring the airing of an anti-Hillary Clinton documentary during the 2008 primary elections. The lower court had said the McCain-Feingold law of 2002 prohibited the planned broadcasts because they would be aired during the 30 day period before a presidential primary and were paid for with corporate money.
The Supreme Court was faced with determining whether the lower court’s ruling was Constitutional. They were originally expected to rule narrowly on the particular merits …
In the wake of the ongoing investigations of former Governor Mike Easley, a new scorecard suggests an antidote to North Carolina’s money-in-politics problems.
NC Voters for Clean Elections has released its 2009 Scorecard on Campaign Reform, highlighting the state’s progress on campaign finance reform. The scorecard hones in on legislative efforts to expand Voter-Owned Elections, a public campaign financing system that reduces candidates’ reliance on special interest fundraising. Under the system—which is available in North Carolina for appellate judges and some Council of State races—candidates who prove vast community support and agree to strict spending and fundraising limits can receive a public grant to run their campaign.
The 2009 scorecard reflects on a legislative session when Voter-Owned Elections gained significant …
Voter-Owned Elections will be a death knell for the candidates who use it.
Chapel Hill doesn’t have a problem with big money in elections.
There aren’t enough people using the program for it to have any impact.
All of these myths were shattered Tuesday night, when Voter-Owned Elections candidates Mark Kleinschmidt and Penny Rich were swept into office.
Kleinschmidt, who won the mayor’s race, was the only mayoral candidate who participated in the program. To qualify, he raised over 150 $10 and $20 contributions from Chapel Hill voters and agreed to strict spending and fundraising limits. In exchange he received a $9,000 grant to run his campaign. “The voter-owned fund played a crucial role in making …
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