Though money itself may not be speech, restricting the ability to fund-raise and spend in any political campaign predictably impedes the ability to express ideas to a wide audience in today's society. Concerns for curbing the corruptive influence of money in politics and protecting freedom of expression in the political arena are therefore commonly in tension. Congress and state legislatures around the country seeking protective campaign finance legislation necessarily walk a fine line in balancing the two.
In striking this balance, many election reformers have turned to public financing systems, under which participating candidates voluntarily limit their spending in exchange for state or federal campaign grants. To ensure these systems remain responsive to the varying demands of each election, some systems have incorporated various trigger or matching funds provisions. These add flexibility to the systems by granting additional funding to participants at various times after an initial grant of public funding and ultimately help publicly financed candidates run consistently more competitive races. The Supreme Court's decision in Arizona Free Enterprise Club v. Bennett is the most recent in a series of cases demonstrating the Roberts Court's hostility toward campaign finance regulation. There, the Court struck down a matching funds provision of Arizona's public financing system that aimed to protect public candidates if their privately financed opponents spent excessively. Viewing the matching funds provision as an unconstitutional penalty on private candidates for choosing to speak, the Court used the First Amendment to effectively justify less speech in elections. By removing funding to public candidates, the Court ultimately hinders political expression more than it protects it.
After analyzing and cnuquing the Court's opinion in Arizona Free Enterprise, this Comment shifts to a discussion of the decision's impact on Wisconsin. Though the state has a proud progressive tradition of open government and clean elections, its public financing system is currently dead after decades of slow decline. As Wisconsin reformers work to craft a new system, matching funds should not be abandoned entirely in the wake of Arizona Free Enterprise. This Comment suggests multiple ways in which legislators can continue to use such provisions as valuable additions to a new, healthy, and durable public financing system.