State court judicial elections are increasingly dominated
by funding from interest groups, a report released on Thursday
showed.
About 30 percent of the money raised in state high-court
elections in the 2009-2010 election cycle came from independent
groups, according to the report, a joint effort by Justice at
Stake, a Washington-based advocacy organization, the Brennan
Center for Justice at New York University Law School, and the
National Institute on Money in State Politics.
In the 2005-2006 cycle, the last comparable two-year
non-presidential election cycle, about 18 percent of the money
raised for state supreme court elections was from outside
interest groups, according to the report.
The report's release comes as dozens of state court judges
are set to meet on Thursday at a conference on judicial ethics
hosted by the American Judicature Society, where topics such as
judicial disqualification and the rise in third-party campaign
spending will be discussed.
Despite the interest group spending jump, total overall
candidate and non-candidate spending during the most recent
cycle dropped off from the previous off-year election cycle.
Total spending was $38.4 million for top court elections for
the 2009-2010 cycle, versus $42.7 million for the 2005-2006
cycle.
Michigan topped the list of most money raised in state
high-court elections in the 2009-2010 cycle, with $9.2 million
raised in the 2009-2010 cycle. It was followed by Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Alabama and Illinois.
The Michigan Republican Party was the largest outside
fundraiser in the 2009-2010 cycle, raising only about $123,000
in direct candidate contributions - but spending close to $4
million on so-called independent expenditures, such as
television advertising.
Retention elections -- simple up or down votes on judges
who already hold posts -- also saw an increase in fundraising
in the 2009-2010 cycle, according to the report. They are
increasingly becoming big business as election campaigns are
targeting sitting judges for their legal decisions. In Iowa,
for example, a bitter retention election campaign last year
forced out three high-court justices over a decision legalizing
gay marriage.
Candidates in Illinois, Iowa, Alaska and Colorado raised
nearly $5 million combined for retention elections.
Earlier this month Reuters reported that a Pennsylvania
state supreme court justice had raised $427,000 so far for a
retention election that will take place on November 8.
(Reporting by Carlyn Kolker)
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