public financing

January 16, 2020 - Since the U.S Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United 10 years ago, corporate campaign cash has poured into supreme court races across the South. With seats up for grabs this year in Arkansas, North Carolina, and West Virginia, that trend is likely to continue.

September 25, 2019 - Elections for high courts in five Southern states will take place over the next year, including special elections in Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana. Some of these courts are already facing unprecedented political pressure, and more money in high court races is coming from groups that don't disclose their donors.

February 21, 2019 - Cheri Beasley will soon be sworn in as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, becoming the first black woman to lead the court. She brings much-needed diversity to the South's appellate courts, which are overwhelmingly white and male.

January 24, 2019 - Legislators in Kentucky and West Virginia are discussing constitutional amendments to give governors unprecedented control over choosing judges, who are currently elected. The moves are part of a broader trend of Republican politicians asserting more control over the judiciary.

July 20, 2018 - With President Trump nominating a judge with a record of hostility to voting rights to the U.S. Supreme Court, state courts and constitutions are likely to play an increasingly critical role in protecting those rights — but those institutions are under political assault by conservatives.

August 19, 2016 - A coalition seeking to curb the political influence of Big Money in Florida's Miami-Dade County collected more than the required number of signatures to put their reform initiative on the ballot in November, but county officials have been blocking the effort.

July 27, 2016 - This is the first time in 40 years the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions will not receive public financing, the culmination of an long trend of growing private funding of the gatherings.