Only the Green Party could complain about a state law that gives them keys to a campaign war chest with more cash inside than they've ever dreamed of.
When's the last time you heard of a Green raising more than a few thousand bucks to run for statewide office, or winning more than the usual 5 or 6 percent? The new Citizens' Election Program promises third parties up to $3 million in public money to run for office - the same as any Democrat or Republican!
But there were the Greens in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport last week, telling a judge that Connecticut's clean elections law is unconstitutional because it makes minor parties work harder for campaign cash than Republicans and Democrats. After two full days of testimony, their points actually started making sense.
With receipts from Connecticut's first clean election not even tallied, state officials found themselves back in court last week defending the program, passed in 2005 after a string of embarrassing pay-for-play scandals sent a host of public officials to prison.
The Green Party of Connecticut, along with the American Civil Liberties Union and the lobbyists' association, are challenging the Citizens' Election Program (CEP) on the grounds it discriminates against minor parties and illegally bars lobbyists from donating to political campaigns.
The two-day bench trial was called to answer one question: Does the law, on its face, discriminate against third parties? Consider a few facts:
• Under the CEP, Republicans and Democrats are guaranteed public money to run for governor, legislature and other state offices if they raise a base amount of seed money in increments of $100 or less.
• Minor party candidates only get the full grant if they raise seed money and if they won 20 percent of the vote for that seat in the prior election - or collect signed petitions equal to 20 percent. They can get lesser grant amounts for lesser shares of the vote: two-thirds of the grant for 15 percent, and one-third for 10 percent.
Full Story: http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=10962
