Contribution limits are increasingly under attack. This is a problem because contribution limits are a bedrock feature of campaign finance law: they prevent wealthy donors from giving unlimited money directly to politicians.
Federal election laws limit the amount of money that an individual may give to a national party committee each year. The aim is to prevent the corruption and appearance of corruption that has been found to arise from parties’ unchecked solicitations of wealthy donors and their receipt of large contributions. That is why it is a big deal that a federal appeals court issued a decision this week rejecting the Libertarian National Committee’s challenge to multiple federal limits on contributions to political parties.
CLC filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Oct. 12, 2018 to defend these limits.
This consequential ruling reaffirms that contribution limits are a vital and constitutionally permissible check on the worst forms of political corruption. A bad decision could have undermined the viability of contribution limits nationwide, at significant cost to public faith in the integrity of our elections.
You can learn more about the case, Libertarian National Committee v. FEC, by visiting our case page.