Private: Wis. Lawmakers Advance Bill for Public Financing of Judicial Elections

Though a slim majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court doesn't believe judicial campaign contributions should trigger judicial recusals, the state legislature is moving in a different direction. Today, the Wisconsin State Senate approved a bill to create a public financing system for state Supreme Court campaigns. The measure would allow taxpayers to opt for supporting the financing system by check-off on their tax returns. The Associated Press reports that eligible candidates would get up to $100,000 from the new fund for a primary and up to $300,000 for a general election. Earlier this week the Joint Finance Committee also approved the measure called the Impartial Justice Bill. Justice at Stake's GavelGrab blog reports that if the measure is signed into law, Wisconsin would join North Carolina and New Mexico in adopting public financing for high court elections. The blog also notes that recent polling shows strong support -- more than 60 percent -- for the proposal.

As noted yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently adopted a new judicial conduct rule that states campaign contributions alone are not enough to force a judge from hearing a case.

Campaign Finance