Should donating even five dollars or less to a candidate result in your personal information being posted online for anyone to find? Confusingly, current law says “sometimes.”
The law says “no” if you personally hand a check for $200 directly to a federal candidate. But it says “yes” if your donation, no matter how small, is passed through a conduit like WinRed and ActBlue. Your direct donations are protected, but your indirect ones are exposed.
The Institute for Free Speech strongly believes the answer should be uniformly “no,” which is why attorneys from the Institute filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of two small-dollar donors from Toledo.
The lawsuit seeks to make disclosure rules uniform by enjoining the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from applying federal disclosure requirements to contributions of $200 or less made through online fundraising platforms.
The suit challenges the constitutionality of federal campaign finance disclosure requirements for small-dollar donors who use online platforms to donate. It argues that the disclosure requirement for conduit contributions violates donors’ First Amendment rights to free speech and association.
The plaintiffs fear that the public disclosure of their small-dollar political donations could lead to personal and professional repercussions, including potential impacts on their business relationships and increased pressure from other candidates for further donations, effectively chilling their ability to engage in anonymous political speech.
On November 22, 2024, Oliver, et al. v. Federal Election Commission was voluntarily dismissed.
To read the full press release regarding the filing of the case, Oliver, et al. v. Federal Election Commission, click here. To read the complaint, click here.
