Campaign finance laws in the United States have been a contentious political issue since the early days of the union. The most recent major federal law affecting campaign finance was the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002,also known as "McCain-Feingold". Key provisions of the law prohibited unregulated contributions to national political parties and limited the use of corporate and union money to fund ads discussing political issues within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election;However,provisions of BCRA limiting corporate and union expenditures for issue advertising were overturned by the Supreme Court in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life.
In the United States government,independent agencies are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments and the Executive Office of the President. In a narrower sense,the term refers only to those independent agencies that,while considered part of the executive branch,have regulatory or rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control,usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited.
In the United States,a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates,ballot initiatives,or legislation. The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level,an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election,and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC),according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level,an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act,the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information,to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions,and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002,commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA,is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The law became effective on 6 November 2002,and the new legal limits became effective on January 1,2003.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements,adopting voluntary voting system guidelines,and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form.
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti,435 U.S. 765 (1978),is a U.S. constitutional law case which defined the free speech right of corporations for the first time. The United States Supreme Court held that corporations have a First Amendment right to make contributions to ballot initiative campaigns. The ruling came in response to a Massachusetts law that prohibited corporate donations in ballot initiatives unless the corporation's interests were directly involved.
The financing of electoral campaigns in the United States happens at the federal,state,and local levels by contributions from individuals,corporations,political action committees,and sometimes the government. Campaign spending has risen steadily at least since 1990. For example,a candidate who won an election to the House of Representatives in 1990 spent on average $407,600,while the winner in 2022 spent on average $2.79 million;in the Senate,average spending for winning candidates went from $3.87 million to $26.53 million.
Charles J. "Chuck" Cooper is an appellate attorney and litigator in Washington,D.C.,where he is a founding member and chairman of the law firm Cooper &Kirk,PLLC. He was named by The National Law Journal as one of the 10 best civil litigators in Washington. The New York Times described him as "one of Washington’s best-known lawyers." He has represented prominent American political figures,including Attorney General Jeff Sessions,in response to the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections;Attorney General John Ashcroft;and former National Security Adviser and United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.
Michael E. Toner,American attorney and political appointee,specializes in election law,and is currently employed by Wiley Rein LLP where he co-chairs the Election Law &Government Ethics Practice. He formerly served as the chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC),the regulatory body that oversees campaign finance for United States federal elections.
The National Legal and Policy Center(NLPC) is a conservative 501(c)(3) non-profit group that monitors and reports on the ethics of public officials,supporters of liberal causes,and labor unions in the United States. The Center files complaints with government agencies,legally challenges what they view as abuse and corruption,and publishes reports. The NLPC is described as conservative in nature. The NLPC's current chairman is Peter Flaherty.
In law,commercial speech is speech or writing on behalf of a business with the intent of earning revenue or a profit. It is economic in nature and usually attempts to persuade consumers to purchase the business's product or service. The Supreme Court of the United States defines commercial speech as speech that "proposes a commercial transaction".
Bradley A. Smith is the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor at Capital University Law School in Columbus,Ohio. He previously served as commissioner,vice chairman,and chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) between 2000 and 2005. He has held prior visiting appointments at Princeton University and West Virginia University. He is best known for his writing and activities on campaign finance regulation.
Ellen L. Weintraub is an American attorney who serves as a Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,558 U.S. 310 (2010),is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding campaign finance laws and free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations,nonprofit organizations,labor unions,and other associations.
Matthew Spencer Petersen is an American attorney who served as a member of the United States Federal Election Commission. In 2017,he was nominated by President Donald Trump to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Petersen withdrew his nomination following a confrontational exchange with Senator John Kennedy during his confirmation hearing. On August 26,2019,Petersen announced his resignation from the FEC,effective August 31. In September 2019,Petersen joined the law firm Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky as a partner where he practices political law.
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission,572 U.S. 185 (2014),was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on campaign finance. The decision held that Section 441 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,which imposed a limit on contributions an individual can make over a two-year period to all national party and federal candidate committees,is unconstitutional.
Ann Miller Ravel is an American attorney who was a Democratic Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC),an independent regulatory agency created by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance law.
Shadow campaigns refers to spending meant to influence political outcomes where the source of the money is not publicly disclosed or is difficult to trace. United States campaign finance law has been regulated by the Federal Election Commission since its creation in the wake of the Watergate Scandal in 1975,and in the years following Citizens United v. FEC,there has been a rise in outside special interest groups spending money on political campaigns in the United States. Dark money leaves voters uninformed about important political information and it can obscure potential conflicts of interest for judges and legislators alike.
Sean Joseph Cooksey is a Commissioner and the current Chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
