Jill L. Stein, et al. v. Federal Election Commission

The Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act establishes a scheme that provides public financing for the presidential primary campaigns of qualified candidates. Candidates may use the funds received for any qualified campaign expense incurred during the matching payment period, which ends no later than the last day of the last major party nominating convention. See 26 U.S.C. § 9032(6). But while major party candidates are entitled to appear on state general election ballots automatically once they are nominated, minor party candidates must petition to qualify – a process the Federal Election Commission recognizes as “the equivalent” of their primary election campaigns. Minor party candidates’ ballot access expenditures are therefore qualified campaign expenses, but only if incurred during the matching payment period. Because many state ballot access deadlines fall after the major parties hold their nominating conventions, minor candidates are ineligible to use matching funds to pay for petition drives in those states. The question presented is: Whether 26 U.S.C. § 9032(6) violates the equal protection of law by guaranteeing that major party candidates are eligible to receive public financing for the entirety of their presidential primary campaigns while arbitrarily terminating minor party candidates’ eligibility in the midst of theirs?