The U.S. Supreme Court announced this morning that it will decide on whether Arizona's "Clean Elections" system violates the Constitution.
The system was a hot topic during this year's election cycle because several candidates -- including Governor Jan Brewer and former Treasurer Dean Martin -- were running as publicly funded, or "clean," candidates. The court ruled in June to put a halt to the matching funds section of the system until justices could rule on whether it infringed on a candidate's right to free speech.
Under the system, publicly funded candidates are given lump sums for their campaigns. If an opponent
spends their own money, and exceeds the initial lump sum, "clean" -- or publicly funded --
candidates got matching funds from the government to level the playing field.
It was a big deal in the GOP gubernatorial primary because candidate Buz
Mills was droppin' loads of cash into his campaign, which meant his
opponents running as "clean" candidates were given matching public funds
to fuel theirs.
In other words, candidates like Brewer and Martin could sit back and let
Mills blow his wad on his campaign while they reaped the benefits -- on
the taxpayer's dime.
Opponents of the matching funds system say it violates a candidate's
right to free-speech. They say it inhibits a privately funded
candidate's fundraising and spending, and limits what voters will hear
about the campaign because it disincentivizes raising and spending
money on things like campaign ads.
At the time of the June ruling, a lawyer for
the group spearheading the move to do away with it told New Times he believed the court would rule in his favor.
"This ruling vindicates the right of traditionally funded candidates to
run their campaigns without the heavy hand of government helping their
opponents," Nick Dranias, the lead attorney on the case for the Goldwater Institute, told New Times.
The court is expected to hear the case in March, with a decision expected by the end of June.
