Contribution Limits: Caps on First Amendment Activity

January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

Contribution limits are monetary restrictions on the amount an individual or group can donate to a political actor – usually a candidate, political party, or political action committee. The Supreme Court first allowed limits on contributions in Buckley v. Valeo. The Court’s ruling acknowledged that contribution limits were a restriction on First Amendment activity, but allowed them on the theory…

Thompson v. Hebdon

August 26, 2019   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  ,

This case, Thompson v. Hebdon, challenges Alaska’s $500 per election cycle limit on contributions from individuals to legislative and gubernatorial candidates. It also challenges ...

Contribution Limits Harm State and Local Leaders Running for President

August 6, 2019   •  By Mark D'Ostilio   •  , ,

Under FEC rules, presidential candidates are largely free to shift money from their past campaigns for federal office into their current presidential campaign accounts. ...

Free Speech Promotes Healthy Democracy in Virginia

July 9, 2019   •  By Mark D'Ostilio   •  , , ,

When it comes to the First Amendment, the people of Virginia should be proud of their laws, and the nation should take notice as ...

Campaign Finance Law Has No Answer for Trump’s Celebrity

June 20, 2019   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

While government has no role to play in dictating how media outlets cover elections, the unique advantages of celebrity candidates make a case for ...

South Dakota Newspaper Association, et al. v. Barnett, et al.

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Americans have the right to support or oppose state ballot measures, even if they are not residents of the state. This is the issue ...

Another Reason to Simplify Campaign Laws: Allowing Free Rides to the Polls

November 6, 2018   •  By David Keating   •  , , ,

Three cheers for Uber and Lyft for offering discounted (and, in many cases, free) rides to voters on Election Day. It’s a shame that the law ...

Libertarian National Committee, Inc. v. Federal Election Commission

September 12, 2018   •  By IFS Staff   •  , ,

The dead cannot ask for favors. And a political committee cannot offer them to the dearly departed. This is especially true when the deceased ...

Lair v. Mangan

September 4, 2018   •  By IFS Staff   •  ,

Trump’s Campaign Finance Catch-22

August 23, 2018   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, has pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance rules—those malleable laws that regulate how much of their own ...

Zimmerman v. City of Austin

August 16, 2018   •  By IFS Staff   •  ,
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