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Super PACs: Expanding Freedom of Speech

January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

Super PACs are simply groups of like-minded citizens pooling their resources to support or oppose political candidates independently of those candidates’ campaigns. The product of a unanimous U.S. Court of Appeals decision in SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission, super PACs have ensured that Americans do not lose their First Amendment rights when they join together in groups. Super PACs are…

Does Larry Lessig Think He and Mayday PAC are Above the Law?

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November 22, 2014   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

Does Larry Lessig think he and his supporters are above the law? In response to a complaint that CCP filed with the FEC, documenting ...

Legislative Review: 2013 State Legislative Trends – Campaign Contribution Limits Increase in Nine States

May 9, 2014   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

First Amendment political speech freedoms dramatically increased last year as nine state legislatures continued to liberalize campaign finance laws in the wake of the 2010 ...

Tennessee Teen Skeptical of his Freedom

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April 14, 2014   •  By Luke Wachob   •  

A recent Washington Post article tells the story of a group of teenagers who started a Super PAC just to see if they could. ...

Solicitation and Coordination

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February 13, 2014   •  By Brad Smith   •  

  It’s frustrating for an academic when one’s work is misinterpreted. It’s even more frustrating when that misinterpretation is your own fault, and the ...

In Defense of “Super PAC’s” and of the First Amendment

November 1, 2013   •  By Luke Wachob   •  ,

Super PACs seem to have burst upon the electoral scene in 2010, following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.1 ...

‘Super PACs’ and the Role of ‘Coordination’ in Campaign Finance Law

October 1, 2013   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , , ,

In January 2010, the United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, struck down a federal ban on independent expenditures in political ...

PACs, Populism, and Political Freedom

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August 7, 2013   •  By Tom Swanson   •  

Across the country, there are as many systems of campaign finance law and regulation as there are states. These systems run the gamut from ...

Move to Defend: The Case against the Constitutional Amendments Seeking to Overturn Citizens United

April 23, 2013   •  By Joe Trotter   •  , ,

Three years ago the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. It found that Congress lacked the power to prohibit independent ...

Super PACs Without Candidates

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April 12, 2013   •  By Sarah Lee   •  

It’s something of a slow news day for the pro-speech side of campaign finance issues so here’s a piece from a young student writing ...

Happy Birthday SpeechNow: Thanks for Trusting Us

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March 26, 2013   •  By Zac Morgan   •  

Today is the third anniversary of SpeechNow.org v. FEC, the case brought by the Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) that created the ‘super PAC.’ ...

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