Peg Perl (Harvard Law & Policy Review)- Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down campaign finance spending bans and contribution limits while keeping disclosure requirements intact. According to the Brennan Center, the Roberts Court has invalidated six different major provisions in federal and state laws and “significantly reshaped the legal landscape dictating how much big money can flow into political races.”
However, even the Citizens United case almost unanimously (8-1) reiterated the constitutionality of the public disclosure requirements when individuals or corporations run advertisements during the final weeks of the campaign season naming a candidate (“electioneering communications”). As Professor Rick Hasen notes in his 2011 analysis of Citizens United, the Court re-emphasized that the voting public has an “informational interest” in knowing who is speaking about candidates even when those ads avoid specific calls to vote for or against the candidate.
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