The New York Times has this editorial in its December 12, 2016 edition, supporting a proposed New York bill that would bar candidates from the ballot if they don’t release their income tax returns before the election. This would clearly be unconstitutional under the 1995 U.S. Supreme Court opinion U.S. Term Limits v Thornton, 514 U.S. 779, which says that neither states nor congress can add to the qualifications to run for federal office.
The editorial quotes legal scholar Laurence Tribe as saying, “Ballot access requirements vary significantly from state to state, and it seems that New York might be able to simply add tax disclosure as a procedural ballot access requirement.”
Many states have rules requiring financial disclosure, compliance with the campaign finance reporting system, etc. or else ballot access won’t be granted. Those laws all exclude federal offices and elections for exactly this reason.
There is also a pretty straightforward argument that the federal government has “occupied the field,” in terms of laws mandating financial disclosures for federal candidates, and so state attempts to enact their own such rules are preempted. Those laws, of course, are enforced solely by regular civil and criminal penalties, not by withholding ballot access or denying eligibility for election.
Two more entities, like a U.S. district judge, who don’t understand the constitution!
Do any campaign finance laws prohibit violators from holding office?
Or do they just impose civil (or criminal?) penalties on violators?
In Michigan, elected candidates are supposed to file certifications that they are in compliance with campaign-finance reporting requirements before they take office. See:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/PostElecCampSta_122987_7.pdf?20130806135546
Of course, winning candidates for US Senate and US House are excluded — as well as candidates for the party office of precinct delegate and candidates who have neither raised nor spent over $1,000 on their campaigns (and thus have waivers from filing almost all reports).
TYRANTS love to super add to qualifications to wipe out opponents.
SERIOUS ROT now in the USA between the communist Donkeys and the fascist Elephants.