ABA Journal: W. Va. Senate Committee Backs Publicly Funded Judicial Elections

"The West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee has endorsed a bill that would publicly finance elections of state supreme court justices. Last week, the state House of Delegates approved pilot program propsed by Gov. Joe Manchin that would finance the two contested seats in the 2012 supreme court race. Candidates would get $200,000 each for primaries and $350,000 for the general election˜all being contingent on whether fundraising thresholds are met, BusinessWeek reports. Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler announced his committee's endorsement of the plan at the same time the Justice at Stake Campaign announced the results of a survey (PDF) that found that 52 percent of 600 voters surveyed supported public financing of elections. The American Bar Association is a partner in the Justice at Stake Campaign." Click here to read more.