Legal Center Files Brief Defending Wisconsin Disclosure Laws in 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

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Today, the Campaign Legal Center filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, defending several provisions of the State of Wisconsin’s campaign finance disclosure law. The Legal Center submitted the brief in Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL) v. Deininger with the assistance of Paul Smith of Jenner & Block.

“WRTL is asking the court to eviscerate virtually every type of meaningful disclosure for groups making independent expenditures in Wisconsin elections, and it is asking the court to do so by ignoring Supreme Court precedent, including the case the group brought in Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission,” said Tara Malloy, Legal Center Senior Counsel.  “This case is part of a nationwide litigation effort by groups seeking to undermine and eliminate disclosure laws at the local, state and federal level. Much of this litigation has been bankrolled by individuals looking to buy political influence while keeping their identities secret from the public. The courts however have long recognized the vital public interests of disclosure laws in ensuring voters can make informed decisions at the polls and in preventing corruption of elected officials.”  

Wisconsin Right to Life v. Deininger challenges several definitions in state law that implement Wisconsin’s political disclosure system as well as Wisconsin’s 24-hour reporting requirement for expenditures made close to an election and its requirement that a committee file an oath attesting that its independent disbursements are independent.

To read the Campaign Legal Center’s brief, click here.

Issues
Campaign Finance

Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL) v. Deininger

At a Glance

On August 5, 2010, plaintiffs filed a sweeping lawsuit challenging numerous aspects of Wisconsin campaign finance law, included the state’s definition of “political committee” and various disclosure and reporting requirements applicable to “independent expenditure organizations.” In 2014, a Seventh Circuit panel struck down much of the “dizzying array of statutes and rules” under challenge...

Status
Closed
Updated
Issues
Campaign Finance
About This Case/Action

On August 5, 2010, plaintiffs filed a sweeping lawsuit challenging numerous aspects of Wisconsin campaign finance law, included the state’s definition of “political committee” and various disclosure and reporting requirements applicable to “independent expenditure organizations.” In 2014, a Seventh Circuit panel struck down much of the “dizzying array of statutes and rules” under challenge. Specifically, the decision invalidated Wisconsin’s ban on corporate political spending and its cap on corporate fundraising for an unaffiliated PAC; its definitions of “political purposes” and “political committee” as they applied to non-express advocacy political speech made by entities other than candidates, their campaign committees, and political parties; its imposition of “PAC-like” obligations on groups making independent disbursements, as applied to organizations without the major purpose of express advocacy; and its treatment of communications mentioning candidates during the 30/60-day preelection period as “fully regulable” express advocacy subject to disclosure and reporting requirements.

Plaintiffs

Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL)

Defendant

Deininger

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