Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom Club Pac, et al., Petitioners v. Ken Bennett, in His Official Capacity As Arizona Secretary of State, et al. (564 U.S. 721)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 27, 2011 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 564 U.S. 721 · 131 S. Ct. 2806
- Decided
- June 27, 2011
- Term
- October Term 2010
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Roberts
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
- Constitutional ruling
- State/territorial law held unconstitutional
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court. Under Arizona law, candidates for state office who accept public financing can receive additional money from the State in direct response to the campaign activities of privately financed candidates and independent expenditure groups. Once a set spending limit is exceeded, a publicly financed candidate receives roughly one dollar for every dollar spent by an opposing privately financed candidate. The publicly financed candidate also receives roughly one dollar for every dollar spent by independent expenditure groups to support the privately financed candidate, or to oppose the publicly financed candidate. We hold that Arizona’s matching funds scheme substantially burdens protected political speech without serving a compelling state interest and therefore violates the First Amendment. I A The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Act, passed by initiative in 1998, created a voluntary public financing system to fund the primary and general election campaigns of candidates for state office. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §16-940 et seq. (West 2006 and Supp. 2010). All eligible candidates for Governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, the corporation commission, mine inspector, and the state legislature (both the House and Senate) may opt to receive public funding. § 16-950(D)…
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