About 60 people, including public office seekers previously defeated in elections by opponents with larger campaign chests, crowded into the small courtroom to hear the case, Royal v. State of North Carolina.
The coalition, represented by former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice James Exum Jr., said creating a fund for candidates with inadequate financial resources would enable them to be more prepared for competition with wealthier opponents.
District Attorney Norma Harold, who was representing the state, said individual wealth is not something under government control and does not create a specific barrier to anyone running for office.
"We're talking about whether there is a constitutional obligation in the state of North Carolina to provide funding for these campaigns," Harold said, claiming such an obligation does not exist.
But Greg Luke, assistant to Exum and a representative of the National Voting Rights Institute, said the reform would allow more citizens to run for office. "It makes the system more fair by raising the floor of opportunity," Luke said.
A study conducted by Democracy South, a Chapel Hill-based organization that examines campaign financing, revealed that the candidate in contested races who spent the most money won 93 percent of the time.
Luke said the state needed to take action to close the financial gap in state elections. "If there's an essential part of the election process, and funding is, then the state is responsible for that," he said.
Luke also said the N.C. General Assembly's refusal to pass an earlier bill for campaign finance reform reflected its own interests instead of the need to help candidates with fewer financial resources.
