(a) The State Election Commission, acting in concert with the State Auditor's office and the State Treasurer's office, shall have a check issued within two business days after the date on which the candidate is certified, to make payments from the fund for the nonpartisan judicial election campaign period available to a certified candidate.
In a contested nonpartisan judicial election, a certified candidate shall receive $525,000 in campaign financing from the fund, minus the certified candidate's qualifying contributions.
(b) The State Election Commission shall authorize the distribution of campaign financing moneys to certified candidates in equal amounts. The commission shall propose a legislative rule on distribution of funds.
(c) The State Election Commission may not authorize or direct the distribution of moneys to certified candidates in excess of the total amount of money deposited in the fund pursuant to section six of this article. If the commission determines that the money in the fund is insufficient to totally fund all certified candidates, the commission shall authorize the distribution of the remaining money proportionally, according to each candidate's eligibility for funding. Each candidate may raise additional money in the same manner as a nonparticipating candidate for the same office up to the unfunded amount of the candidate's eligible funding.