By Brooke Parker
Staff Writer
In light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed a similar fund in Arizona to be unconstitutional, the N.C. State Board of Elections on Sept. 9 suspended a funding portion of Chapel Hill’s Voter-Owned Elections program, the only of its kind in North Carolina. The future of the program remains in limbo after this November’s elections.
On June 27, the Supreme Court invalidated a matching fund that was part of Arizona’s public campaign-financing system, writing that the fund violated the First Amendment by hindering speech and spending rights of candidates who raised private money.
In response, the N.C. State Board of Elections removed the rescue fund – additional public money given to candidates using the program if their opponents raise significantly more money – of the Voter-Owned Elections program.
The town launched Voter-Owned Elections as a pilot program in 2009 after receiving authorization from the General Assembly to do so.
The Chapel Hill Town Council enacted the program in order to encourage candidate and voter participation in elections and to address the disparity of spending among candidates.
The program imposes a minimum requirement regarding the number of candidate donors, as well as a restriction on the amount of monetary donations.
In order for a candidate to qualify, he or she must demonstrate a level of public support by collecting a certain number of contributions ranging from $5 to $20.
A town council candidate must collect at least $838 from at least 83 contributors, while a mayoral candidate must collect at least $1,676 from 165 or more contributors. Town council candidates can raise up to $2,514, and mayor candidates can raise up to $5,027.
Once they qualify for the program, council candidates receive $3,351, while mayoral candidates receive $10,053 in public grants funded through the town budget.
The rescue funds – the recently eliminated portion of the program – were an award of public money given to VOE candidates when a privately funded opponent raises more than $23,458 in a mayoral race or $9,383 in a council race.
The rescue fund provided $4,468 for mayoral candidates and $2,234 for council.
Most candidates in the upcoming Chapel Hill elections said they see the program as a great opportunity.
Town council candidates Donna Bell and Jason Baker have declared that they will use the VOE program.
“It helps people feel like they can really get involved in the process,†said Bell, an incumbent.
Baker agreed. “I’m excited about the idea that it’s going to stamp out some of the larger-dollar spending issues,†he said.
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and council member Penny Rich both won in 2009 using the program. Kleinschmidt is a longtime supporter of VOE.
“The program allows voters to engage in politics and with local leaders,†he said. “People felt involved and felt important.â€
Kleinschmidt does not plan on using VOE in the upcoming election because he does not think he will need as much money for his campaign as the program offers.
Council candidate Lee Storrow said that while he does not plan to use the program in the upcoming election, he still believes that the program “demonstrates real-life campaign financing.â€
But not all candidates running in the upcoming election support VOE.
Council candidates Augustus Cho and Jon DeHart said the program is unnecessary.
“There is no direct correlation with money and how many votes you get,†DeHart said.
“I feel voters always own the elections in that everyone gets one vote,†Cho said.
For the program to continue, the General Assembly must approve legislation allowing municipalities to publicly finance campaigns. The program would then need approval from the state board of elections.