Campaign Finance

Disclosure - "is the most basic form of campaign finance regulation. All states require some level of disclosure from candidates, committees, and political parties of the amount and source of contributions and expenditures. The states vary in disclosure requirements and reporting frequency."

Public Financing - "Some have programs that provide public funds for use in election campaigns. These programs may provide funds directly to individual candidates or to political parties, or provide tax incentive to citizens who make political contributions."

Contribution Limits - "One of the most common means of regulating money in elections is through the imposition of limits on the amount of money any group or individual can contribute to a campaign. This page provides an overview of the types of restrictions states place on contribution limits, and gives examples of certain statutory restrictions."

Explain the circumstances and significance of each of the following Supreme Court decisions.  Include answers to the clarifying questions.

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976)

Contribution limits are constitutional, expenditure limits are not. (1) limit and require disclosure of contributions, (2) limit expenditures, and (3) mandate participation in a publically financed presidential election program

What’s the difference between a “contribution” and an “expenditure”?

independent expenditure

In candidate elections, an independent expenditure is a payment for a communication expressly supporting or opposing a candidate for elective office that is not made at the behest of a candidate or any agent of the candidate. A payment is made at the behest of a candidate if it is made at the request, suggestion, or direction of the candidate, is coordinated with the candidate, or is otherwise made in cooperation, consultation, or concert with the candidate.

Any person or entity can make an independent expenditure to support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure. Keep in mind, however, that anyone making $1,000 or more in independent expenditures has become a "committee" and will be required to file documents to disclose its expenditures.

What is the difference between a contribution and an independent expenditure?

A contribution is given to someone else to spend. For example, if a person gives $100 to a candidate, that person has made a contribution. The candidate may spend that $100 on advertising, flyers, billboards, or anything else he or she wants. Moreover, if a person spends $100 at the behest of a candidate or the candidate's committee, that payment is also a contribution. On the other hand, if a person spends money on advertising, flyers, etc. to support a candidate, but does so in a manner that is completely independent of the candidate, he or she has made an independent expenditure.

McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93 (2003)

This case was the first to recognize the link between “soft money” and corruption.  his case is the court’s reaction to the passage of the federal Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002. BCRA imposed bans on soft money (money contributed to political parties for purposes other than supporting or opposing a candidate, such as to run voter registration drives), and placed limits on advertising by corporations and PACs immediately preceding an election. Because “there is substantial evidence to support Congress’ determination that large soft-money contributions to national political parties give rise to corruption and the appearance of corruption,” this provision of the BCRA was upheld. Later, in Citizens United, the court overruled the portion of McConnell that allowed prohibitions on corporate independent expenditures. 

                What is a PAC (pronounced, “pack”) 

Political Action Committee (PAC) — A popular term for a political committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates. Most PACs represent business, labor or ideological interests. PACs can give $5,000 to a candidate committee per election (primary, general or special). They can also give up to $15,000 annually to any national party committee, and $5,000 annually to any other PAC. PACs may receive up to $5,000 from any one individual, PAC or party committee per calendar year. A PAC must register with the FEC within 10 days of its formation, providing name and address for the PAC, its treasurer and any connected organizations. Affiliated PACs are treated as one donor for the purpose of contribution limits.

What is soft money?

1. a contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)

States cannot place limits on the amount of money corporations, unions, or PACs use for electioneering communications, as long as the group does not directly align itself with a candidate. The limits on advertising by corporations and PACs that helped frame the McConnell decision came into play again during the 2008 presidential campaign. When Citizens United tried to run ads critical of Senator Hillary Clinton close to the 2008 Democratic primary, it was barred from doing so by the BCRA. When brought to the Supreme Court, Justice John Roberts, on behalf of the majority, struck down provisions of the BCRA that prohibited corporations, unions, and PACs from making independent expenditures and election communications, as “the government may not suppress political speech on the basis of the speaker’s corporate identity.” After this decision, corporations and unions can spend unlimited sums of money on ads and other communications designed to support or oppose a candidate. Corporations are still prohibited from contributing directly to federal candidates, but can contribute unlimited sums to organizations, such as Super PACs and 501(c)4s, that support or oppose a candidate