Institute For Free Speech

FEC: An Agency Tasked with Regulating First Amendment Activity
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

The Federal Election Commission is the independent agency charged with enforcing federal campaign finance law and enacting campaign finance regulations. The FEC was created after the Nixon Administration’s Justice Department pursued criminal campaign finance charges against the President’s critics. In light of that effort, Congress correctly rejected the idea of letting a future president effectively control a government agency tasked…

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC and Heritage Action
November 17, 2022   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  ,

This case is about what happens when a federal agency goes rogue and decides it no longer must follow its own organizing statute or ...

FEC Draft Rule on Internet Communications Disclaimers Needs More Work
November 16, 2022   •  By Brad Smith and David Keating   •  , , ,

Update: On November 28, FEC Chairman Allen Dickerson and Commissioner Shana Broussard submitted a revised draft of the proposed final rule. The revised draft, ...

Comments to the FEC Regarding Advisory Opinion Request 2022-12 (Ready for Ron)
August 30, 2022   •  By Gary Lawkowski   •  ,

RE: Advisory Opinion Request 2022-12 (Ready for Ron) Dear Commissioners: The Institute for Free Speech[1] submits this comment in support of Draft B in ...

Important First Amendment Supreme Court Decision Cruises Under the Radar
July 21, 2022   •  By Barnaby Zall   •  , , ,

FEC v. Cruz is a forceful restatement of the Court’s intention to protect political speech and clarifies that governments must justify restrictions with specific ...

President Biden Asks Congress to Censor Political Speech in First State of the Union Address
March 9, 2022   •  By Nathan Maxwell   •  , , , , , ,

The State of the Union address is the president’s yearly opportunity to discuss solutions to the nation’s toughest problems before Congress. In President Joe ...

Exposing Donations to Political Causes Can Chill Free Speech
February 28, 2022   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  , , , ,

Americans should take two lessons from these unfortunate events. First: The right to support causes privately and keep our associations to ourselves is important ...

Ted Cruz vs. Frankenstein’s Monster
January 18, 2022   •  By Brad Smith   •  , ,

When the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of major portions of the Federal Election Campaign Act in Buckley v. Valeo (1976), it launched what is now ...

12 Years Later, the FEC Finally Agrees to Acknowledge Super PACs

 FEC Form 1 2022
January 13, 2022   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

Super PACs came into existence in 2010 – that’s twelve years ago. They have spent roughly $5 billion dollars since that time, leaving their ...

FEC Should Update Form 1 to Acknowledge Super PACs and Hybrid Committees
January 13, 2022   •  By David Keating   •  , ,

This morning the Federal Election Commission will consider Chairman Allen Dickerson’s “Motion to Instruct the Staff to Prepare an Amended Form 1 Acknowledging Independent ...

Federal Election Commission v. Cruz
December 21, 2021   •  By IFS Staff   •  , , ,

Senator Ted Cruz’s victory over the Federal Election Commission in a loan-repayment case clarified important First Amendment principles. The Institute for Free Speech asked ...

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