[EL] McComish (and let's stop calling it that) Decided

Mon Jun 27 09:34:03 PDT 2011

The offending part of the CCEC website actually still mentions "leveling the playing field" but it puts it in context and explains it simply means giving money to participating candidates so they can be competitive.

Becoming involved in the political process has become much easier and simpler thanks to the Citizens Clean Elections Act.
The Citizens Clean Elections Act was passed by the people of Arizona in 1998 to restore citizen participation and confidence in our political system. The voters wanted to reduce the potentially corrupting influence of money and to "level the playing field" for participating candidates by simply giving them enough money to run credible campaigns while preserving the right of traditional candidates and others to raise and spend campaign dollars as they choose. The Act allows candidates, running for the Legislature or statewide offices the opportunity to forgo special interest money by collecting a certain number of $5 donations. In return, the candidate will receive full funding for their campaigns.

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Hasen
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 8:15 AM
To: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] McComish (and let's stop calling it that) Decided

Justice Kagan's Response on the Website Point<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19706>
Posted on June 27, 2011<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19706> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

"Finally, the Court remarks in a footnote that the Clean Elections Commission's website once stated that the ''Act was passed by the people of Arizona . . . to level the playing field.' Ante, at 24, n. 10. I can understand why the majority does not place much emphasis on this point.Some members of the majority have ridiculed the practice of relying on subsequent statements by legislators to demonstrate an earlier Congress's intent in enacting a statute. See, e.g., Sullivan v. Finkelstein, 496 U. S. 617, 631-632 (1990) (SCALIA, J., concurring in part); United States v. Hayes, 555 U. S. 415, 434-435 (2009) (ROBERTS,
C. J., dissenting). Yet here the majority makes a much stranger claim: that a statement appearing on a government website in 2011 (written by who-knows-whom?) reveals what hundreds of thousands of Arizona's voters sought to do in 1998 when they enacted the Clean Elections Act by referendum. Just to state that proposition is to know it is wrong."
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
More Gold from J. Kagan<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19702>
Posted on June 27, 2011<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19702> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

"Pretend you are financing your campaign through private donations. Would you prefer that your opponent receive a guaranteed, upfront payment of $150,000, or that he receive only $50,000, with the possibility-a possibility that you mostly get to control-of collecting another $100,000 somewhere down the road? Me too."
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Of

On 6/27/2011 8:05 AM, Rick Hasen wrote:
And this from J. Kagan<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19699>
Posted on June 27, 2011<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19699> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

"If an ordinary citizen, without the hindrance of a law degree, thought this result an upending of First Amendment values, he would be correct."
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
The Dissent's Ouch!<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19696>
Posted on June 27, 2011<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19696> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Justice Kagan: "So they are making a novel argument: that Arizona violated their First Amendment rights by disbursing funds to other speakers even though they could have received (but chose to spurn) the same financial assistance. Some people might call that chutzpah."
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Of

On 6/27/2011 7:52 AM, Rick Hasen wrote:
Ouch!<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19693>
Posted on June 27, 2011<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19693> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A fn. in CJ Roberts' opinion: "Prior to oral argument in this case, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission's Web site stated that " 'The Citizens Clean Elections Act was passed by the people of Arizona in 1998 to level the playing field when it comes to running for office.' " AFEC Brief 10, n. 3 (quoting http://www.azcleanelections.gov/about-us/get-involved.aspx); Tr. of OralArg. 48. The Web site now says that "The Citizens Clean Elections Actwas passed by the people of Arizona in 1998 to restore citizen participa-tion and confidence in our political system."
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Of

On 6/27/2011 7:37 AM, Rick Hasen wrote:
Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom PAC v. Bennett (McComish) Decided<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19690>
Posted on June 27, 2011<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19690> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The opinion is here<http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-238.pdf>. It is 5-4, as expected, striking down the matching funds provision.

More to come after I've read and analyzed the 68 pages.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
--
Rick Hasen
Visiting Professor
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html

William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
http://electionlawblog.org

--
Rick Hasen
Visiting Professor
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html

William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
http://electionlawblog.org

--
Rick Hasen
Visiting Professor
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html

William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
http://electionlawblog.org

--
Rick Hasen
Visiting Professor
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html

William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
http://electionlawblog.org
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