NEWS FLASH

West Virginia Election Commission Kills Anti-Corruption Law | The Supreme Court’s assault on campaign finance reform claimed another victim Tuesday as the West Virginia Election Commission relied on a recent Court decision to deny public matching funds to a judicial candidate. After coal mogul Don Blankenship spent $3 million to elect a West Virginia Supreme Court justice in 2004, the state enacted a program to fight corruption by publicly funding judicial elections. But the Election Commission relied on a recent ruling that a similar public funding program in Arizona is unconstitutional when it decided to ignore the law and deny public matching funds to Supreme Court Candidate Allen Loughry. Loughry was upset by the decision, arguing that the commission is violating a valid law. “This is something that all West Virginians should be stunned by, be frustrated by,” he said. “Because all we want as West Virginians is for elected officials, for people appointed to our governing board to follow the law.”

–Alex Brown