US Supreme Court Issues Major Ruling on Campaign Finance

The high court ruling could open the money floodgates for corporations and unions, making it easier for them to run their own campaign ads on behalf of or against political candidates.

21 January 2010

US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (file photo)

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision on campaign finance laws Thursday that opens the way for corporations and labor unions to have an even greater impact on the U.S. elections process.

A sharply divided Supreme Court, by a vote of five to four, struck down campaign finance laws going back decades that had imposed limits on political contributions from corporations. The ruling is also expected to apply to labor unions and activist groups.

The high court ruling could open the money floodgates for corporations and unions, making it easier for them to run their own campaign ads on behalf of or against political candidates. In the 2008 election cycle alone, nearly six billion dollars was spent on all federal campaigns for president and Congress.

The high court's five-member conservative majority equated limits on campaign contributions from corporations with constitutionally unacceptable limits on free speech. Justice Anthony Kennedy said that limits on political speech were unjustified, and the majority struck down laws that had placed limits on the amount of money corporations and unions could spend on election campaigns.