Statement on Supreme Court Refusal to Revisit Duke v. Leake.
“NC Voters for Clean Elections applauds today’s decision by the Supreme Court to refuse a challenge to and thus tacitly uphold North Carolina’s judicial public financing program.
Far from chilling speech, public campaign financing expands it, enlarging public discussion and debate in the electoral process. Indeed, by providing an alternative source of money to candidates who meet certain requirements, public financing offers more opportunities and avenues for political speech.
With 92% participation this year, North Carolina’s public campaign financing program is overwhelmingly successful. The program is providing a key infrastructure that protects our courts from real and perceived corruption and it offers an important remedy to the problem of increasingly large amounts of money being spent to influence judicial election outcomes. No longer do citizens need to worry about special interest groups influencing our court system with campaign contributions, because most of North Carolina’s judicial candidates are participating in public financing and relying solely on small donors and the public for support.
The independence of our courts is one of the central tenets of our democratic system of government. Public campaign financing is an essential democracy investment that protects this independence and impartiality. We hope today’s decision will inspire other states to consider North Carolina’s success and leadership in this area and push for judicial public financing programs of their own.”
-Chase Foster, NC Voters for Clean Elections
