Daggett v. Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices
Daggett v. Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices
Campaign Finance Reform
The Brennan Center represented five Maine officeholders and candidates as fully participatory amici curiae acting to defend the constitutionality of the Maine Clean Elections Act ("MCEA"), Maine’s full public funding program for candidates for state legislative and gubernatorial races. Plaintiffs in the case asserted that several provisions of the MCEA were unconsitutional. In response to those contentions, amici argued that the MCEA was a voluntary program, and thus, participants were not coerced to participate in it. Amici further argued that the matching funds “trigger” provision—that is, the provision under which program participants were given additional public funds if persons opposing her spent over a certain amount—furthered, rather than hindered, First Amendment values. Finally, amici explained why the matching funds provision was necessary to realize the interests that the MCEA sought to further.
