The Supreme Court struck down a limit on the amount of post-election funds that can be used to pay back personal loans from candidates, further chipping away at federal campaign finance regulations
The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a limit on the amount of post-election funds that can be used to pay back personal loans from candidates, further chipping away at federal campaign finance regulations.that split the court cleanly along ideological lines, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that a cap that allowed federal political candidates to only use up to $250,000 in post-election fundraising dollars to pay back a personal loan from the candidate was unconstitutional.
“The ability to lend money to a campaign is especially important for new candidates and challengers,” wrote Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush. “As a practical matter, personal loans will sometimes be the only way for an unknown challenger with limited connections to front-load campaign spending. ... And early spending — and thus early expression — is critical to a newcomer’s success.
“The extent of the burden may vary depending on the circumstances of a particular candidate and particular election. But there is no doubt that the law does burden First Amendment electoral speech, and any such law must at least be justified by a permissible interest,” the chief justice wrote. Kagan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, also said the high court’s decision to strike down the provision was certain to increase public perceptions that money is effectively buying political results in the U.S.
The Roberts court has long been hostile to BCRA, chipping away at the law in favor of less restrictions on political spending in the name of free speech. Despite Roberts increasingly straying from the rest of the conservative justices in other areas of the law, he has been an almost entirely reliable opponent of campaign finance restrictions during his time on the bench.decision that the government was prohibited from limiting independent expenditures from corporations and unions.
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