Home About Chat Users Issues Party Candidates Polling Firms Media News Polls Calendar Key Races United States President Senate House Governors International

New User Account
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource." 
Email: Password:

  U.S. Appeals Court strikes down part of state election law
NEWS DETAILS
Parent(s) Container 
ContributorHomegrown Democrat 
Last EditedHomegrown Democrat  Dec 12, 2011 05:02pm
Logged 0
CategoryLegal Ruling
AuthorPatrick Marley and Bruce Vielmetti
MediaNewspaper - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
News DateMonday, December 12, 2011 09:50:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionA federal appeals court on Monday struck down a Wisconsin law that set limits on contributions to groups that run independent political ads.

The appeal was brought by the political action committee of Wisconsin Right to Life, which earlier won a temporary injunction against enforcing the law in question during recall elections this year.

Monday's ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals makes the injunction permanent.

Wisconsin has long had a $10,000 limit on how much one could give each year to political action committees. But the panel said that law is not in keeping with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last year in the Citizens United case, which determined that corporations and unions can spend freely in elections.

"Citizens United held that independent expenditures do not pose a threat of actual or apparent quid pro quo corruption, which is the only governmental interest strong enough to justify restrictions on political speech," Judge Diane Sykes wrote for the panel.
Share
ArticleRead Full Article

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor

DISCUSSION