Court Opinion

ID: 9791565
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:13:45.307487+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:36.905377
License: Public Domain

Finley, J.
(concurring in the result) — It is with some reluctance that I concur in the result reached by the majority.
Two centuries ago, the American people chose a representative democracy as their constitutional form of government. Our system of democracy is not a static social compact fixed in 1789, but a continuing and dynamic experiment in representative government. Democracy is a fragile thing, and its well being must be zealously guarded by the people as well as by the State as a responsive agency of the people. The State through amenable constitutional means, must take appropriate action to superintend and maintain the integrity of our electoral system.
*388The people of Washington in their sovereign capacity have exercised their residual legislative power through the initiative process to enact a measure designed to reduce the improper influences of money on the elective processes. This court has upheld those provisions of Initiative 276 which require extensive disclosures and reporting by public officials, lobbyists, and grass roots organizations. Fritz v. Gorton, 83 Wn.2d 275, 517 P.2d 911, cert. denied, 417 U.S. 902, 41 L. Ed. 2d 208, 94 S. Ct. 2596 (1974); Young Americans for Freedom, Inc. v. Gorton, 83 Wn.2d 728, 522 P.2d 189 (1974). The de minimis administrative intrusions made by the disclosure provisions of the initiative upon First Amendment rights is far outweighed by the State’s compelling interest in maintaining the integrity of government.
In sharp contrast to the initiative provisions considered in our prior opinions, supra, unfortunately section 14, as the majority illustrates, may actually preclude the exercise of First Amendment rights altogether. Free speech as a vital part of open and robust political debate is the essence of our democratic system of government. It cannot be denied that in a modern idiom campaign spending is roughly the equivalent of political speech. It is true that a poor but hearty candidate may to some degree compensate for a lack of financial backing by “door belling,” stumping cross-state or the like. Nonetheless, while financial expenditures may not be directly correlative with a candidate’s persuasiveness, campaign spending does open avenues of communication which are foreclosed to the impecunious candidate. Cf. Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241, 41 L. Ed. 2d 730, 94 S. Ct. 2831 (1974). Accordingly, it may be deemed desirable to limit the paid communications of the most affluent candidates to preclude the drowning out of less fortunate opponents. This legislative goal may well meet constitutional muster, as a reasonable limitation on spending may be justified. Cf. Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 23 L. Ed. 2d 430, 89 S. Ct. 1827 (1969). However, it is in attempting this objective that section 14 fails.
*389The fatal flaw, in my view, is not the objective per se of section 14 in limiting the sum of campaign expenditures, but that its actual practical operations may still the voices of all citizens interested in a political issue or campaign. In conjunction with section 7, the effect of section 14 is to require the coordination of campaign expenditures with the campaign treasurer. As to a ballot proposition, the expenditures of all political committees would be required to be orchestrated into one financially unified effort to avoid overspending. See Attorney General Opinion, Feb. 5, 1973. In the case of individual candidates, the candidate, through his campaign treasurer, would decide which spending would yield the most favorable result. Thus, with regard to a ballot proposition, a single committee may preempt the communications of all other similarly interested groups by merely spending the maximum allowable amount under section 14. In the same vein, a candidate nearing his spending ceiling may foreclose the expression of supporters who would express their views in communications not deemed to be desirable or effective by the candidate. For example, a committee of business men which urged the election of a candidate for Seattle mayor might desire to publish an ad in the Wall Street Journal. The candidate, however, might well decide that a far more expedient forum for campaign expenditures and communication would be a Seattle daily; and therefore, reject the ad. The First Amendment problems are exacerbated if the political committee offering its assistance might be an embarrassment to the candidate. By way of possibly somewhat extreme illustration, communications bearing themes “Fascists for John Smith” or “Communists for Jim Brown” might be considered detrimental by some candidates who would prefer to avoid identification with these groups. Hence, under section 14, certain political communications could be vetoed.
The perils of section 14 are further accentuated when the subject political expressions are not directly associated with a candidate. Without straining credulity, one could hypothesize a “Committee to Defeat [Elect] Incumbents,” *390“Citizens for Conservative [Liberal] Government” or “Mothers Against [for] Abortion.” Arguably these latter political entities under section 14 would not be required to submit their expenditure requests to the campaign treasurer of a candidate. This is not clear, however, when the committee’s political campaign is identified with one candidate alone. Thus, under the initiative if a candidate may squelch the expression of independent political communications, section 14 would be violative of the First Amendment. If section 14 does not reach the independent entity, bogus “independent” committees may be used by candi'dates as subterfuges to avoid the spending limitations. Moreover, if the independent committee does not secure the acquiescence required by section 7, it is presumptively subject to the sanctions of section 39. The marketplace of free political expression cannot be subjected to these vague and chilling standards.
The extensive reporting and disclosures required by the constitutionally valid provisions of sections 15, 17, 18, 20, and 24 will provide the electorate with more information about those individuals who work in the political sphere. Hopefully, the availability of added data regarding the finances of candidates and public officials, as well as the activities of lobbyists, will be carefully analyzed by the electorate. Undoubtedly, the required reporting of Initiative 276 will create a more open and socially viable marketplace of political thought and expression. More complete information concerning a candidate’s finances will not, in itself, solve or alleviate the impact of unequal campaign expenditures. It is not inconceivable, however, that, armed with the knowledge of such disparities, the electorate may make appropriate evaluative compensation for the less monied candidate. It is possible that Initiative 276, by broadening the spectrum of political debate, may alleviate the perceived problem of disparate campaign spending.
In the interim, the unfettered expenditures of huge sums in political campaigns may well be an undesirable evil *391which should be corrected by remedial legislation. In my opinion, the majority’s decision does not preclude the enactment of more carefully drafted legislation which does not so grossly trespass upon the right to free speech. For this and other reasons stated I must concur in the result reached by the majority.
Wright and Utter, JJ., concur with Finley, J.