The U.S. Supreme Court is once again facing a crucial decision: whether to preserve or upend long-standing legal precedent that curbs big money in elections.
For over 50 years, federal campaign finance law has limited how much money political parties can spend in “coordination” with federal candidates. This law prevents deep-pocketed donors from circumventing contribution limits and using political parties to funnel massive amounts of funds to the candidate of their choosing — and potentially buying political leverage to manipulate our elections and drown out the voices of everyday Americans.
More than 20 years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed these limits and the crucial role they play in preventing corruption. Now we are urging them to do so again.
Campaign Legal Center, joined by the League of Women Voters and Common Cause, filed an amicus brief in NRSC v. FEC urging the Court to follow its own precedents and reaffirm the constitutionality of this law. SCOTUS must reinforce what has already asserted to be true: Contribution limits are at the heart of keeping elections fair.
Season 5 of Campaign Legal Center’s award-winning podcast, Democracy Decoded, is back with episodes dropping each week. In this week’s episode, host Simone Leeper speaks with former FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Campaign Legal Center President Trevor Potter about how big money continues to dominate American politics and reforms that could curb the outsized role of this spending in our democracy.
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center is dedicated to advancing democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process.
