Emerging Issues: NOM Lawsuit
Key Points on the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) Lawsuit:
The NOM lawsuit seeks to overturn many provisions of Maine's campaign finance laws. This is an expansion of the original lawsuit in which NOM sought to shield the identity of its donors. Now NOM seeks to make expenditures in the 2010 election cycle to let voters know how legislators voted on the same-sex marriage bill when it was before the Legislature, and once again it objects to Maine's disclosure laws. Independent expenditures like the ones NOM intends to make are reported under Maine law, and these reports are a critical part of the Clean Election system.
One of the provisions under attack is the reporting requirement for independent expenditures which are made in Clean Election races. These reports are critical to the Clean Election system. Without them, the playing field would be tipped to moneyed interest groups who are able to spend without limit. The Clean Election Act's matching fund system ensures that candidates have the resources they need to keep pace with expenditures that are made against them or in favor of their opponent. Without them, negative attacks would go unchallenged. Under Maine law, no one is prevented from participating in candidate campaigns.
Maine law does not ban or limit independent political spending. Instead it takes a "more speech" approach, requiring disclosure in order to provide matching funds to candidates who have chosen to run under very strict spending limits.
The State of Maine has a compelling interest in maintaining the expenditure disclosure requirements so that the Clean Election system remains viable and attractive to strong candidates. This goes beyond the normal interest in disclosure -- enhancing the public right to know and ensuring that voters are informed about who is responsible for political speech.
