Supporters of publicly financed elections are using revelations from the State Board of Elections hearings into former Gov. Mike Easley to push their cause.

In publicly financed elections, taxpayer dollars provide candidates with money for advertising and campaigning. To qualify, candidates must demonstrate they have a minimum base of support and must agree to spending limits and restrictions on fundraising.

Municipal elections in Chapel Hill, appellate judge races and some Council of State races use the system. 

That's exactly the type of election the state needs in the wake of revelations that Easley's gubernatorial campaign planned to funnel money through the N.C. Democratic Party to circumvent the state's campaign finance limits, said Chase Foster, director of N.C. Voters for Clean Elections.

"More and more, North Carolina leaders see Voter-Owned Elections as the obvious answer to the rising cost of elections,” Foster said in a news release.

Foster released a scorecard tracking votes on publicly financed elections bills. Foster said the scorecard shows that lawmakers are increasingly supportive of the election changes.

A bill that would create a pilot program for more publicly financed municipal elections cleared the House this year. The Senate approved a bill that would expand the program to more Council of State races.

Opponents to such elections say taxpayers would be forced to fund political speech, and that political contributions would instead be given to special interest groups to spend.

N.C. Republican Party Chairman Tom Fetzer says he believes the genesis for the current run of corruption in state government began in 1977, when the state changed the Constitution to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms.

That prompted the legislature to end its practice of limiting leaders leaders of both chambers to serving only one term, Rob Christensen reports. Powerful lawmakers could then hold onto power.

"I trace the end of good government back to 1976 when Jim Hunt changed the Constitution to succeed himself," Fetzer told News and Observer editors and reporters Wednesday. (Hunt was elected in 1976 but the Constitution was changed in 1977.) "I would personally advocate that we pass a constitutional amendment to get the governor back to one term."

Fetzer said he was saddened to see the campaign finance investigations surrounding former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley, noting that he often chatted with Easley while hitting balls on a public driving range off Yonkers Road on Sunday afternoons.

"On a personal level," Fetzer said, "I like Mike Easley. I think he has made some horrible mistakes. I think he and State of North Carolina are going to pay a price for those mistakes. I think that is sad."

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TO THE POLLS: More than 20 local races will be decided in the Triangle tomorrow. (N&O)

BLAZING AN UGLY TRAIL: Former Gov. Mike Easley's case before the State Board of Elections may make it easier to hold candidates liable for what their campaigns do. (News & Record)

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA: Three state agencies will get back $34 million withheld earlier this year to make sure the budget balanced. (AP)

News & Observer photographer Shawn Rocco has compiled a photo gallery of images from the final day of the State Board of Elections hearings. 

Bob Hall, whose complaint led to the State Board of Elections hearings this week, praised the board's decision.

Hall, executive director of Democracy N.C., said the board sent a strong message that it is illegal to try to funnel contributions through a political party.

It’s a sad day when evidence justifies referring a governor for criminal investigation, but it’s in the best interest of the public and of the thousands of candidates who are acting properly for the State Board to make it clear that no one is above the law.  In another unanimous vote, the Board recommended that the General Assembly amend state law to require the candidate to personally bear the cost of fines imposed as a result of election law violations if the candidate’s campaign committee is too broke to pay. Again, the Board sends a strong message that candidates must be held accountable for the conduct of their campaign.

The State Board of Elections has voted to refer a possible criminal case against former Gov. Mike Easley and others to the Wake County District Attorney's office. It also assessed $109,000 in penalties: $9,000 against Democrats, $100,000 against the Easley campaign. (pool video)

N.C. Democratic Party Executive Director Andrew Whalen issued a statement after the State Board of Elections ruling.

The board found that former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign solicited contributions for the party that they promised would go to the Easley campaign.

Today, in a unanimous vote, the State Board of Elections fully exonerated the North Carolina Democratic Party of any violations of election law.

Evidence presented during the hearing indicated that the Easley Committee solicited contributions for the Party from two donors, indicating to the donors that those contributions would be used on behalf of the Easley Committee.

It was undisputed that the Party did not participate in the solicitations and had no knowledge of the manner in which the solicitations were made. The SBOE did order the Party to disgorge $9,000 representing the two contributions.

The North Carolina Democratic Party cooperated fully with the investigation, providing numerous documents and testimony, and is pleased that the Board carefully examined the evidence and chose to dismiss the complaint filed against the Party.

State Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake commended the treasurer of former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign.

Dave Horne testified that he knew little about flights Easley was taking. Campaign treasurers are responsible for certifying finance reports are accurate. Leake said Horne should be commended for questioning an invoice for flights that turned out to be falsified.

And he said no evidence showed that Horne knew about the flights.

"We have to have people willing to be campaign treasurers," Leake said. "A campaign treasurer can't be held responsible for everything that happens in a campaign or we won't have any campaigns."

State Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake said the board would still like to talk to Ruffin Poole, a patronage boss, lawyer and aide to former Gov. Mike Easley.

The N.C. Court of Appeals was considering Friday a judge's order granting Poole the right to not testify to the board.

The Board of Elections members are, from left, Anita Earls, Bob Cordle, Larry Leake, Charles Winfree and Bill Peaslee.

Staff photo by Shawn Rocco.

Former Gov. Mike Easley testified that he didn't know much of anything about how his campaign worked.

He didn't count the money and only called potential donors when he was forced to by his fundraisers. His campaign must now forfeit $100,000 — $60,000 to pay for flights and $40,000 as a penalty.

As of June 30, Easley's campaign had $121,984 in its account, according to campaign finance records.

Board chairman Larry Leake said its very easy for campaigns to spend all their money, which would make it difficult to collect assessments from the Board of Elections.

That's why, Leake said, the board is recommending to the General Assembly that state law be changed to make a candidate personally liable for such penalties.

"Candidates do not accept sufficient responsibility and ownership of their campaigns," Leake said.

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