Amendment 1 — Campaign Finance Contribution Limits And Source Restrictions

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First Amendment :

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The Supreme Court in Buckley v. Valeo held that contribution limits are subject to a more lenient standard of review than expenditure limits because they impose only a marginal restriction on speech and will be upheld if the government can demonstrate that they are a “closely drawn” means of achieving a “sufficiently important” governmental interest.[1](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn1amd1 " See 424 U.S. 1, 25 (1976). ") Unlike expenditure limits, which reduce the amount of expression, the Court opined that contribution limits involve “little direct restraint” on the speech of a contributor.[2](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn2amd1 " Id. at 21. ") While acknowledging that a contribution limit restricts an aspect of a contributor’s freedom of association by affecting a contributor’s ability to support a candidate, the Court determined that a contribution limit still permits symbolic expressions of support and does not infringe on a contributor’s freedom to speak about candidates and issues.[3](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn3amd1 " See id. at 21, 24. ")

Under the First Amendment , the Supreme Court has evaluated the constitutionality of specific types of contribution limits. In Buckley, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)[4](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn4amd1 " Codified, as amended, primarily at 52 U.S.C. §§ 30101–30146 and sections of titles 18 and 26. FECA was first enacted in 1971, and was amended in 1974, 1976, 1979, and most recently and significantly, by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), Pub. L. No.

, 116 Stat. 81.. ")

107-155

, 116 Stat. 81 .. base limits, which cap the amounts of money an individual can contribute to a candidate, party, or political committee.[5](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn5amd1 " See Buckley, 424 U.S. at 29. ") In assessing whether a contribution limit is closely drawn, the Court determined it necessary to examine whether the limit is so low that it significantly impedes a candidate from raising the necessary funds for effective advocacy.[6](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn6amd1 " See id. at 21. ") In Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, the Court announced that while limits must be closely drawn to a sufficiently important interest, the amount of the limitation “need not be ‘fine tuned.’” [7](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn7amd1 " 528 U.S. 377, 387–88 (2000) (quoting Buckley, 424 U.S. at 30, n. 3). ") In contrast, in Randall v. Sorell, in a plurality opinion, the Court determined that contribution limits were too low to comport with First Amendment free-speech guarantees when they were substantially lower than limits previously upheld by the Court and limits in effect in other states.[8](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn8amd1 " See id. at 261. ")

Similarly, in McConnell v. FEC, the Supreme Court upheld against facial constitutional challenges, among other things, a prohibition on national political parties fundraising or spending federally-unregulated funds, known as soft money.[9](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn9amd1 " 540 U.S. 93, 188–89 (2003). ") The Court determined that the subject provisions of law are, in effect, contribution limits and source restrictions—not expenditure limits because they do not limit the total amount of funds that parties can spend.[10](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn10amd1 " See id. at 138–39. ( “Plaintiffs contend that we must apply strict scrutiny to § 323 because many of its provisions restrict not only contributions but also the spending and solicitation of funds raised outside of FECA’s contribution limits. for purposes of determining the level of scrutiny, it is irrelevant that Congress chose in § 323 to regulate contributions on the demand rather than the supply side.” ) Id. at 138. ") Hence, the Court applied the “less rigorous” standard of scrutiny that it applied in Buckley to contribution limits.[11](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn11amd1 " Id. 138–39 ") However, the McConnell Court invalidated a prohibition on individuals age seventeen and under from making contributions, reasoning that minors enjoy First Amendment protection and that the prohibition was not closely drawn to serve a sufficiently important government interest.[12](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn12amd1 " See id. at 137, 231–32 (citing Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 511–513 (1969); Buckley, 424 U.S. at 20–22). ")

The Court has considered the constitutionality of aggregate contribution limits, which cap the total amount that an individual can contribute to a candidate, political party, or political committee. In Buckley, the Court upheld the constitutionality of a FECA aggregate contribution limit in effect in 1976, characterizing the limit as a “quite modest restraint” that served to prevent circumvention of base limits.[13](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn13amd1 " See Buckley, 424 U.S. at 38. ") In McCutcheon v. FEC, however, in a plurality opinion, the Court invalidated a similar aggregate limit, determining that regardless of whether strict scrutiny or the “closely drawn” standard applies, the Court needed to “assess the fit” between the government’s stated objective and the means to achieve it.[14](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn14amd1 " See McCutcheon, 572 U.S at 199. ") Observing a “substantial mismatch” between the two, the opinion concluded that even under the more lenient standard of review, the limits could not be upheld.[15](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn15amd1 " Id. ")

In Davis v. FEC, the Supreme Court held that a FECA provision establishing a series of staggered increases in contribution limits for candidates whose opponents significantly self-finance their campaigns violates the First Amendment .[16](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn16amd1 " See Davis v. FEC, 555 U.S. at 740, 744 (2008). See also FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate, No. 21-12, (U.S. May 16, 2022) (holding that a FECA limit on the amount of post-election campaign contributions that may be used to repay a candidate for personal loans made pre-election violates the First Amendment, determining that the limit did not serve the governmental interest of avoiding quid pro quo candidate corruption). ") The Court reasoned that limits on a candidate’s right to advocate for his or her own election are not justified by the compelling governmental interest of preventing corruption because the use of personal funds actually lessens a candidate’s reliance on outside contributions, thereby counteracting coercive pressures and risks of abuse that contribution limits seek to avoid.[17](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn17amd1 " See id. While conceding that the law did not directly impose a limit on a candidate’s expenditure of personal funds, the Court concluded that it impermissibly required a candidate to make a choice between the right of free political expression and being subjected to discriminatory contribution limits, and created a fundraising advantage for his or her opponents. See id. See also Ariz. Free Enter. Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, 564 U.S. 721, 755 (2011) (holding unconstitutional a voluntary public financing system that granted additional financing to a publicly-financed state office candidate in response to a privately-financed opponent engaging in spending, because it subjected privately-financed candidates and independent expenditure groups to “a substantial burden” on their political speech). ")

The Supreme Court has also upheld the constitutionality of laws limiting who can make a campaign contribution, known as a source restriction. In FEC v. Beaumont, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a FECA prohibition on corporations making direct campaign contributions from their general treasuries in connection with federal elections.[18](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn18amd1 " 539 U.S. 146, 163 (2003). While FECA prohibits contributions by corporations and labor unions from their own funds or “general treasuries,” the law permits contributions from separate segregated funds or political action committees (PACs) that are established and administered by corporations and unions. 52 U.S.C. §§ 30118(a), 30118(b)(2)(C). ") The Court observed that large, unlimited contributions can threaten “political integrity,” necessitating restrictions in order to counter corruption or its appearance.[19](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/campaign-finance-contribution-limits-and-source-restrictions#fn19amd1 " <span class="cite cite-type-case" full=