Federal District Judge D. Brock Hornby recently ruled that the law is constitutional when opponents of reform challenged it in court. There is nothing unfair, and no profound disparity, in Maine s decision to make the public funding equivalent to that which a privately funded candidate may raise, particularly when the public funding has a modest cap. Consequently, I reject the plaintiffs' contention that the matching fund provision infringes on the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. It s quite simple and quite radical. And the state picks up the tab.
Critics say the system is paternalistic and complicated, but it s actually pretty simple.
Collect enough five-dollar donations from voters and you qualify as a certified candidate. If a publicly funded candidate has a privately funded opponent who exceeds the limits, the state will make additional grants but only to a point. That s enough of a gamble to make the participants a little leery. I am nervous. Perhaps more importantly it means that access to cash won t be the most important qualification candidate s need.