Story Archives of 'Campaign Finance'

On September 9th the Supreme Court will hear new arguments on campaign finance law, and some speculate the court is likely to sweep away a longtime ban on independent corporations financially influencing elections. We'll talk about the campaign finance debate as it goes to the Supreme Court and how the case could affect upcoming elections.

Guests

• Buzz Scherr, professor at Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord
• Peter Overby, NPR correspondent, Power, Money and Influence, Washington Desk

As Barack Obama and John McCain debate how to raise money in the presidential race, New Hampshire officials are appointing a panel to study how the state could adopt public financing for State Senate and Executive Council races. Advocates say public financing would enrich democracy by enabling low-income candidates to compete with well-funded rivals. Opponents counter that public financing is an attack on free speech that takes money and power away from citizens and gives it to the state. We’ll get the latest on campaign finance and hear about reforms in other states.

Guests

• Shawn Jasper, Republican State Representative from Hudson
• Jim Rubens, former Republican State Senator and member of the Commission to Study the Feasibility of Public Funding of State Election Campaigns

We'll also hear from

• Mal Leary, a reporter for the Capitol News Service in Augusta, Maine
• Jim Splaine, Democratic State Representative from Portsmouth, member of the Election Law Committee, and author of HB 794, which created the Commission

During the presidential primary, we are bringing you excerpts of the candidates as they answer questions from voters. We present these with minimal editing as you might have heard them at the actual event. Today in Exeter, Illinois Senator, Democrat Barack Obama, talked with about a hundred voters at a house party.

Exeter resident Herb Moyer challenged him on one source of his campaign money.

Up until now, public dollars have played an key role defraying the costs of a Presidential campaign…. But that could change this year – with major candidates already deciding to “opt out” of the system. We’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of public financing. Laura's guests are John Rauh, president of "Americans for Campaign Finance Reform," a national, bi-partisan group promoting public funding of all federal elections, who was the was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate here in New Hampshire in 1992 and John Samples, Director of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University.

The mixture of campaign politics and money leaves voters more than a little suspicious. One response has been to shine a light on campaign contributions through public disclosure. New Hampshire has lagged behind many states in making that information as easy to use as possible. But now, the Secretary of State is about to bring the state's campaign finance reporting system into the 21st century. New Hampshire Public Radio's Jon Greenberg has more.