Analysis & Commentary
Public Financing
Growing Backlash Against ‘Citizens United’
We can expect citizens and courts to continue to rally against the case until it ceases to be the law of the land.
Authored by: Mimi Marziani
– 01/23/12
Minimizing Special-Interest Power by Maximizing Participation
Fighting back against restrictive voting-rights laws and empowering small donors can help reclaim elections.
Authored by: Michael Waldman
– 01/04/12
N.C. Should Fight to Keep Publicly Funded Judicial Campaigns
Judicial elections are different than legislative races, which is why North Carolina should maintain and strengthen its judicial public financing program as a vital bulwark against improper influence.
Authored by: David Earley
– 10/12/11
More than Combating Corruption: The Other Benefits of Public Financing
This report summarizes some of the reasons beyond the anti-corruption interest that public financing is worth instituting.
Authored by: Mimi Marziani, Laura Moy, Adam Skaggs, and Marcus Williams
– 10/07/11
The Governmental Interests that Support Public Financing
This memo summarizes the governmental interests that justify public financing programs in the aftermath of Arizona Free Enterprise Club v. Bennett, which overturned the "trigger fund" provisions of Arizona's public financing program.
Authored by: Mimi Marziani and Adam Skaggs
– 09/14/11
A Loss for ‘We the People’
The high court's ruling in the Arizona public financing case is no win for free speech. It actually stifles speech by creating a new right to speak without response.
Authored by: Mimi Marziani
– 07/18/11
Arizona Free Enterprise and the Future of Public Financing
Last month, a bitterly divided Supreme Court issued the latest in a string of ideologically-driven decisions that have struck down a series of legislative attempts to reduce the influence of money and special interests in our elections.
Authored by: Adam Skaggs and Mark Ladov
– 07/11/11
Try Public Financing on the State Level
Government corruption keeps making headlines. Such news makes the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision striking down part of Arizona's public financing law particularly troubling. Fortunately for New Yorkers, the Empire State still has plenty of weapons to fight corruption in government.
Authored by: Mark Ladov and Lawrence Norden
– 07/06/11
Michael Waldman on MSNBC Discussing McComish v. Bennett
The Brennan Center's Executive Director Michael Waldman appeared on MSNBC's The Daily Rundown to discuss McComish v. Bennett and the future of campaign finance law.
– 06/24/11
Money, Politics, and the Constitution: A Public Conversation
The Brennan Center and The Century Foundation examined what could be next for the First Amendment, how to advance a new jurisprudence that combats the rise of unfettered money in politics, and how to advance a vision of the Constitution as a charter for a vibrant, participatory democracy.
– 06/22/11