Alternative newspaper examines Connecticut clean elections law

Connecticut’s New Haven Advocate, a progressive weekly, writes, “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.”

However, following that critical introduction, the piece continues, “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.”

Finally, the Advocate concludes, “it wasn’t third parties wasting taxpayer dollars on legislative races they couldn’t possibly win this year. It was largely Republicans, and a few Democrats. Consider that in 2008, five minor-party candidates qualified for some level of public funds, all of whom lost badly. Meanwhile, there were nine major-party candidates for Senate and 33 for House who lost by 20 points or more and still received the full public election grant.”