The ACLU of Rhode Island issued the following statement in response to Governor Gina Raimondo’s proposed legislation that would bar candidates who owe campaign fines from running for office:
“Candidates who willfully fail to comply with reporting requirements or other aspects of the campaign finance laws deserve to be penalized. But we do not believe keeping them off the ballot is the proper approach. In this instance, it serves like a 'get out of jail free' card, since it is a substitute for the more serious penalties – a criminal conviction and imposition of severe civil fines – that are currently available under the campaign finance laws, but which are never used. Furthermore, keeping otherwise qualified candidates off the ballot unduly infringes on voter choice.
“It is already a criminal offense for a candidate to 'willfully and knowingly' violate the campaign finance statutes. The law further authorizes courts to issue injunctive relief against violations of this statute and, more importantly, to impose a civil penalty of up to three times the amount of the contributions or expenditures not reported by the elected official. Contempt proceedings are available against any person who fails to comply with such court orders. However, these remedies are never pursued. This bill is not necessary other than to bypass these more potent remedies, and thus effectively weaken, not strengthen, the penalties sought against violators.
“The bill’s approach is troubling for another reason. However unintentionally, it could give the Board of Elections the power to decide which candidates who owe fines can run for office. That is because the Board routinely exercises discretion in trying to settle outstanding fines. By being tougher or more lenient in deciding what constitutes a reasonable settlement for any particular candidate, the Board could, in effect, decide who does and does not get to run for office.
“The Rhode Island Constitution sets specific qualifications for candidates. Expanding those qualifications by statute unduly infringes on voters’ choice. Claims of candidate misconduct beyond those established by the Constitution should be fair game on the campaign trail, not a bar to running for office in the first place.
“For all these reasons, we oppose keeping candidates who owe fines off the ballot. Instead, the application of the unused penalty provisions currently would be both a sufficient and more appropriate way to promote compliance with the campaign finance laws.”
