By Carrie Ann Sitren
Arizona’s Citizens Clean Elections Commission is dirtying up politics. Afraid of a proposal on next year’s ballot that would end the commission’s funding, the commission is using taxpayer money to run ads against the ballot measure.
This ad campaign means that taxpayers who actually support ending funding for the commission could end up paying for the “no” ads – not exactly clean or fair politics.
But there’s more. The commission’s ads mislead by claiming the program uses no taxpayer money. Clean Elections receives revenue from a $5 voluntary check-off box on Arizona tax returns. But the check-off is not a typical tax credit that designates a portion of your taxes for the fund. Neither is it a donation. Instead, checking the box just reduces state revenues by increasing your refund or decreasing your tax liability by $5. It alsotriggers a $5 appropriation from the state’s general fund to the commission. The total cost to the state is $10 for every taxpayer who checks the box, and last year, the commission reaped $8 million in funding from check-offs.
Talk about muddying the waters. The Citizens Clean Elections Commission should live up to its name and stop using public money to sway elections.
Learn More:
Goldwater Institute: Supreme Court Declares Arizona’s Matching Funds System Unconstitutional
Arizona Legislature: S.C.R. 1025 (No Taxpayer Subsidies for Political Campaigns Act)
Arizona Legislature: Fact Sheet for S.C.R. 1025
As an attorney for the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, Carrie Ann Sitren works to defend property rights, enforce fiscal responsibility and protect school choice in Arizona. Prior to joining the Goldwater Institute, Sitren worked as a law clerk with the Institute for Justice Arizona Chapter, and interned with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Neal Boortz Show. 
