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FECA
Was passed to reform campaign finance. It created the Federal Election Commission and provided limits and disclosure of campaign contributions. It was the first time that limits were placed on campaign contributions. -
Buckely v Valeo
The court decided that limits on the amount of money one can donate to a campaign can be limited and are not protected by the first amendment. The other thing that the court decided on was that the limitation of campaign expenditures was a violation of the first amendment. -
Hard Money
Donations to a campaign that are regulated by law through the FEC -
Soft Money
Political contributions earmarked for party-building and generic party advertising. Was once unlimited -
527 Group
Occurred due to the McCain-Feingold act. A 527 group is not allowed to advocate for a specific candidate but can rail on any candidate as much as wanted. 527 groups must focus on issue advocacy. -
McCain-Feingold/BCRA
It increased the role of soft money in campaign finance. Prevented ads being broadcast that mention a candidates name. Established the use of 527s. -
Citezens United v. Federal Election Commision
The supreme court's decision in McConnell did not apply to all BCRA challenges. BCRA's disclosure requirements do not impose a constitutional burden. The BCRA can regulate media even if it lacks a clear plea to vote for a candidate. A feature length film/documentary can be treated as a political campaign ad. Citizens United's documentary Hillary: The Movie was applied to the BCRA and Citizens United sought an injucture. It stated that corporations are given the same freedoms as individuals. -
PACs
Came about due to the Supreme Court case Citizens United v Federal Election Commission and the overturning of a section of the McCain-Feingold act. PACs are allowed to raise unlimited funds to assist campaigns but are not allowed to interact with any member of the campaign. -
Super PAC
A Political Action Committee that can spend unlimited amounts of money on a campaign. Like a normal PAC super PACs cannot be in direct contact with a candidate or their staff. -
Independent Expenditures
An independent expenditure is a communication directly to the candidate of an election for them to use for said election. The FEC has set no limits on independent expenditures. They are mostly used by super PACs. -
Independent Contributions
A in dependent contribution is when an individual gives money to a candidate to assist in the election of the candidate. Independent contributions are limited by the FEC.
