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For immediate release.
Mar. 21, 2007
Contact: Bryan Warner, N.C. Center for Voter Education,
919-839-1200

Notable Names Promote Tax Form Check-Off for Clean Courts

RALEIGH – What do former N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt, U.S. Sen. John McCain and mega-celebrity Tom Cruise have in common?

They (or in Cruise’s case, his cartoon caricature) all appear in a series of online videos asking North Carolinians to say “yes” to the Public Campaign Fund option on their state income tax form.

The videos at www.ncjudges.org are part of an effort by the nonpartisan N.C. Center for Voter Education to raise awareness of the check-off box and the nationally praised program it supports, as the April 17 tax deadline fast approaches.

McCain, a noted champion of campaign finance reform, voices his support for the Public Campaign Fund, while Hunt, a Democrat, demonstrates bipartisan support for the program by appearing with fellow-former Gov. Jim Holshouser, a Republican.

A spoof of “Celebrity Jeopardy” features an animated Cruise competing against cartoon versions of Jerry Seinfeld and Paris Hilton, with the aim of protecting the integrity of North Carolina’s courts.

“Our hope is that folks find these videos informative and entertaining, and that they show their support for fair and impartial courts by saying ‘yes’ to the Public Campaign Fund option on their state income tax form,” says Chris Heagarty, executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education.

The Public Campaign Fund offers public campaign financing to candidates for the N.C. Supreme Court and N.C. Court of Appeals who agree to abide by strict fund raising and spending limits.

The fund also pays for the state judicial voter guide, featuring all of the candidates for North Carolina’s highest courts. In 2006, nearly 4 million copies of the voter guide were mailed to homes across the state in the weeks before Election Day.

While the program has been a proven success in reducing special-interest cash in the state’s appellate court elections, and has empowered voters with facts on judicial candidates, the Public Campaign Fund’s future relies upon the tax form check-off.

“Other states are looking to the Public Campaign Fund as a model of sensible and successful judicial reform,” says Heagarty, “but it’s up to the people of North Carolina to ensure that the program’s success continues for elections to come.”

For each person who marks “yes” to the Public Campaign Fund option on the state income tax form, $3 is designated for the program. Saying “yes” does not affect the amount of taxes paid or refund received, but rather instructs the state to set aside a portion of taxes already being collected, to be used for the Public Campaign Fund.

The N.C. Center for Voter Education is a Raleigh-based nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina.

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More online at http://www.ncjudges.org.

Former N.C. Govs. Jim Hunt and Jim Holshouser appear in a public service announcement airing throughout North Carolina to raise awareness of the Public Campaign Fund.

Learn more at www.ncjudges.org.