US top court weighs rollback of limits on party campaign spending

"The conservative-majority United States Supreme Court is considering arguments in a case that could roll back existing limits on political party spending, potentially opening the door to further loosening campaign finance rules. Conservative justices, including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, appeared receptive on Tuesday to a Republican-led push to overturn a 2001 court decision that upheld a federal election law more than 50 years old."

"Corporations and donors rushed to take advantage, leading to a considerable increase in campaign spending. According to the transparency watchdog Open Secrets, spending by super PACS, or a kind of political action committee that can raise unlimited funds from donors, corporations, and other groups, rose from $62.6m in 2010, the year of the ruling, to $622.7m two years later."

"By 2024, the figure had exploded to $4.1bn. The court has continued to chip away at limits in a series of additional rulings since Citizens United. The coordinated party spending limits are at war with this court's recent First Amendment cases, Noel Francisco, a lawyer for the Republican challengers, told the justices. Some of the court's liberal justices noted the surge in political spending that has accompanied previous decisions on campaign finance. Once we take off coordinated expenditure limits, then what's left? ask"

The conservative-majority United States Supreme Court is considering a case that could roll back limits on political party spending and loosen campaign finance rules. Conservative justices including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito appeared receptive to overturning a 2001 decision that upheld a long-standing federal election law. The court has a record of weakening political spending limits, viewing expenditures as protected speech. The 2010 Citizens United ruling removed limits on individual expenditures, prompting large increases in spending and the growth of super PACs from $62.6m in 2010 to $4.1bn by 2024. Republican challengers argue coordinated party spending limits conflict with recent First Amendment rulings, while liberal justices warned about the surge in political spending.

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