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…

Wave election possible because of Virginia’s campaign finance laws

November 16, 2017   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  , , ,

The recent election in Virginia was a wave. Democrats swept the races for statewide office. Republicans, previously a supermajority in the House of Delegates, ...

Danica Roem’s win proves it: We don’t need to restrict campaign contributions

November 15, 2017   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , , ,

By Luke Wachob Roem outraised Marshall 3-to-1 thanks in part to large donations from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates across the country. This was ...

Why Contribution Limits Pose a Threat to Free Speech

November 3, 2017   •  By Alex Cordell   •  ,

Aside from voting, one of the most effective ways Americans can generate change in their government is to speak out and educate more of ...

Federal Election Commission v. Jeremy Johnson and John Swallow

John Swallow
October 23, 2017   •  By IFS staff   •  , , ,

Can the FEC punish an individual for giving advice? That is the question at the core of Federal Election Commission v. Jeremy Johnson and John ...

Campaign Finance Regulations Don’t Exist to Make Politicians’ Lives Easier

August 31, 2017   •  By Joe Albanese   •  , , ,

Issue One’s series of interviews with former lawmakers continued last week with a discussion featuring Charlie Bass, a Republican Congressman from New Hampshire from ...

What’s the Value of “Outside Speech” Anyway?

August 28, 2017   •  By Alex Cordell   •  ,

Far outside the boundaries of the continental United States, Alaska’s stringent campaign finance regulations go a step further in distinguishing The Last Frontier from ...

A World Without Buckley v. Valeo

Decided over forty years ago, the landmark 1976 Supreme Court decision, Buckley v. Valeo, remains at the heart of modern debates over the intersection ...

Courts should undo this dumb, unfair rule on campaign finance

April 11, 2017   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

Campaign finance laws often raise difficult questions about the intersection of free speech and elections, but not every case is a tough one. Some ...

Money doesn’t buy elections and elections aren’t rigged. Period.

March 28, 2017   •  By Alex Baiocco   •  , ,

Searching for “rigged election” in Google News turns up “about 288,000 results.” Add “Trump” to the search and you get “about 342,000” hits. Enough ...

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