Ferlic v. Danberg
Campaign Finance Reform
The Brennan Center intervened on behalf of two Nebraska office holders in defense of the state’s Campaign Finance Limitation Act. The Act offers a unique public financing system by authorizing candidates in certain political campaigns partial public financing if they agree to follow voluntary spending limits and other specified requirements.
Plaintiff Randolph M. Ferlic, a successful candidate for the Board of Regeents who chose not to accept the voluntary spending limits, sought a judgment declaring that the public funding system established by the Act violated free speech and equal protection guarantees under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
In a victory for the office holders represented by the Center, the plaintiffs ended up abandoning the case, which was dismissed without prejudice in 2002.