As a result, the Court upheld limits on the amount that an individual could contribute to any given candidate for office as well as the overall limit on an individual’s total contributions during any calendar year. The Court’s decision starts on a positive note, acknowledging that there is a compelling interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption caused when individual donors make large financial contributions to candidates, noting that “representative democracy is undermined” by such large contributions. A number of candidates, contributors, and organizations challenged the Act. The Act placed limits on the amount an individual could contribute to a candidate for elected office, the overall amount any individual could contribute annually, independent expenditures in support of or against a clearly identified candidate, and the amount a candidate could spend on their own campaign. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 was a bold effort to prevent corruption and undue influence in our campaign finance system. Valeo (aka The Court’s First Big Mistake) (1976) Facts Federal Election Commission (aka The Nightmare Continues) (2014)īuckley v. Bennett (aka The Public Financing Case) (2011) FEC (aka The Worst Decision Since Dred Scott) (2010) Michigan Chamber of Commerce (aka The Good One) (1990) Massachusetts Citizens for Life (aka The Nonprofit Case) (1986) Bellotti (aka The Citizens United of the 1970s) (1978) Valeo (aka The Court’s First Big Mistake) (1976) The best way to understand how our campaign finance laws became so horribly dysfunctional is to understand those decisions, which are explained in detail below. The influx of money from corporations, unions, and ultra-wealthy individuals in recent decades is due largely to a few poorly reasoned Supreme Court decisions. In fact, dating back to the Tillman Act of 1907 and the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, Congress limited the ability of corporations and labor unions to make contributions or expenditures in connection with political campaigns.

Believe it or not, before some recent Supreme Court decisions the American political system was not always so skewed in favor of the wealthy and powerful.

Worst supreme court decisions