Elections: Campaign Finance Reform
The campaign finance reform bill signed into law in 2002 bans soft money (unlimited campaign contributions to political parties) and prevents special interest groups from spendinig corporate or labor union money on broadcast ads that mention a candidate just prior to an election. The law also doubles the hard money limits for individuals. The law’s soft money restrictions have greatly impacted the way campaign funds are raised: Political parties collected nearly $500 million in soft money contributions during the 2002 elections. Shortly after the bill was signed by President Bush, several groups filed lawsuits, challenging the law’s constitutionality. The AFL-CIO, American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association say the legislation’s curbs on issue ads are an unconstitutional limit on free speech. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), an outspoken critic of the new law, and the Republican National Committee also filed lawsuits, asking for the law’s ban on soft money contributions to be struck down. In May 2003, a federal court ruled that the new law’s ban on soft money was unconstitutional, allowing the political parties to resume raising the unlimited campaign contributions. The court restricted how soft money can be spent, however, prohibiting political parties from using it to run issue ads. The court also rejected the law's ban on issue ads by special interest groups in the weeks leading up to an election, instead adopting a stricter standard that applies to ads aired at any time.
The decision was automatically appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard the case in a special extended session. In December 2003, the Court announced 5-4 decision that upheld McCain-Feingold's soft money and issue ad restrictions. The Court did declare unconstitutional the law's prohibition on minors making contributions to candidates and political partiesSource: Open Source.
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