Alexandria, VA – The Institute for Free Speech (IFS) released the following statement in response to today’s opinion and remand by the U.S. Supreme Court on a First Amendment challenge to Alaska’s contribution limits. IFS filed an amicus brief urging the Court to take the case.

“The Randall test on contribution limits remains complicated and quite possibly unworkable. Still, it is good that the Court put some teeth into the test. The Court’s message is clear: lower courts must apply serious review and not give a green light to states to restrict First Amendment rights,” said Institute for Free Speech Chairman Bradley A. Smith.

“The Court provided strong reasons to doubt Alaska’s contribution limits will survive. Its opinion also singles out five other states with an ‘individual-to-candidate contribution limit of $500 or less per election: Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, and Montana,'” said IFS Legal Director Allen Dickerson.

To read the Supreme Court’s opinion, click here. To read the Institute for Free Speech’s amicus brief in the case, click here. For more information on the case, Thompson v. Hebdon, click here.

About the Institute for Free Speech

The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Originally known as the Center for Competitive Politics, it was founded in 2005 by Bradley A. Smith, a former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. The Institute is the nation’s largest organization dedicated solely to protecting First Amendment political rights.