Ballot Referenda Campaigns

Prompted by an ACLU lawsuit, the General Assembly has completely revamped the state’s campaign finance law as it relates to ballot question advocacy. The new law removes a number of unconstitutional provisions that the ACLU recently challenged successfully, as well as a particularly onerous provision that the court had upheld: requiring all ballot question contributions to be funneled through political action committees. The revised statute, drafted with extensive ACLU involvement, should encourage more active public participation in ballot campaigns.