The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission was established to provide public funding for election campaigns. The commission, however, began using its funds to promote itself in a series of advertisements, in violation of state law.
The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of No Taxpayer Money for Politicians – the ballot committee supporting a constitutional amendment to end public funding for political candidate campaigns.
The lawsuit asked the court to find that the commission illegally expended public funds on self-promotion and attempted to influence the outcome of an election. In April 2012, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed into law more firm restrictions on the commission ability to use public funds for self-promotion.
Complaint (11/21/2011)Brief and Response to Motion to Dismiss (12/23/2011)Reply (1/24/2012)Reply, Exhibits (1/24/2012)Ruling (3/22/2012)
Clint Bolick served as the Goldwater Institute’s Vice President for Litigation until January, 2016, when he was appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Christina Sandefur is Executive Vice President at the Goldwater Institute. As an attorney, she has won important victories for the rights of entrepreneurs, taxpayers, and property owners in Arizona. She is also a co-drafter of the Right to Try initiative, which protects terminally ill patients’ right to try safe investigational treatments that have been prescribed by their physician but are not yet FDA approved for market. She is the co-author of the book Cornerstone of Liberty: Private Property Rights in 21st Century America (2016). Christina is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law and Hillsdale College.
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